Shirakumo o tsubasa ni kakete yuku kari no kadota no omo no tomo shitau nari

白雲を翼にかけて行く雁の
門田の面の友慕ふなり

Roma-ji: Shirakumo o tsubasa ni kakete yuku kari no kadota no omo no tomo shitau nari
English Translation: White clouds on their wings,
as they fly along on high,
the wild geese, it seems,
calling to their friends below
in the fields before the gate.
Meaning: Bearing the white clouds on their wings as they fly, the wild geese seem to be crying in longing for their companions on the paddy before the gate.
Commentary: Autumn Poems 422

Headnote: "Voices of wild geese far and near"
The topic is the cries of wild geese heard far and near. The geese flying high, as though bearing the white clouds on their wings, seem to be calling in longing to their companions who have come down on the paddy before the gate. In the calls exchanged between the geese on high and those on the field, the poet hears two voices, far and near.
It was included in the second book of autumn poems of the Shin Kokin Wakashū. Where the preceding poem sang of geese crossing in darkness, this one sings of geese crossing a sky of white clouds, linking the geese in the sky and those on the ground through their answering cries.

First line, “shirakumo o”: the white clouds.
Second line, “tsubasa ni kakete”: as if bearing the white clouds on their wings, flying as high as the clouds.
Third line, “yuku kari no”: the geese crossing the sky, answering the topic's far.
Fourth line, “kadota no omo no”: kadota is the paddy before the gate, where geese have come down, answering the topic's near.
Fifth line, “tomo shitau nari”: nari infers from sound, they seem to be calling in longing for their friends.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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