Yūsare ya hibara no mine o koeyukeba sugoku kikoyuru yamabato no koe

夕されや檜原の峰を越え行けば
すごく聞こゆる山鳩の声

Roma-ji: Yūsare ya hibara no mine o koeyukeba sugoku kikoyuru yamabato no koe
English Translation: Ah, the evening comes—
as I cross over the peak
of cypress forests,
so lonely to the ear,
the voice of the mountain dove.
Meaning: Evening falls. As I cross the peak thick with cypress, the call of a mountain dove sounds chillingly lonely.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1052

Headnote: "A mountain path at dusk"
This poem is on the topic "A mountain path at dusk." Crossing a peak thick with cypress as evening falls, the poet hears the call of a mountain dove sounding chillingly lonely.
The desolation of a mountain path at dusk is drawn through the dim cypress woods and the dove's call. Sugoshi, a word Saigyō favored, expresses a loneliness that sinks into the heart, almost eerie. The scene of a solitary crossing during a journey rises vividly.

First line, “yūsare ya”: yūsare is the coming of evening; ya is exclamatory, and the poem breaks after the first line.
Second line, “hibara no mine o”: the peak overgrown with cypress.
Third line, “koeyukeba”: as I go crossing it; the realis with ba gives a definite condition.
Fourth line, “sugoku kikoyuru”: sugoshi means eerily lonely.
Fifth line, “yamabato no koe”: ending on a noun, the dove's call echoing through the mountain lingers.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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