Aki wa kure kimi wa miyako e kaerinaba aware naru beki tabi no sora kana

秋は暮れ君は都へ帰りなば
あはれなるべき旅の空かな

Roma-ji: Aki wa kure kimi wa miyako e kaerinaba aware naru beki tabi no sora kana
English Translation: Autumn draws to its close,
and if you go away
back to the capital,
how full of sorrow it will be,
this sky above my journey.
Meaning: Autumn is ending, and once you have gone back to the capital, how sorrowful the sky over this journey will be.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1122

Headnote: "When I went to the salt springs, the person who had come with me went up to the capital first on the last day of the ninth month, and I composed this on behalf of the one sending it"
At the salt springs, a companion went back to the capital ahead of the others on the last day of the ninth month, and Saigyō composed this on behalf of the one who stayed. Autumn is ending, and once you have returned to the capital, how sad the sky of this journey will be.
The last day of the ninth month was the last day of autumn, and the departure of the season is laid over the departure of a person. "Autumn ends" and "you to the capital" are set in parallel, stressing a double loneliness of parting. It pairs with Kaga's reply in 1123.

First line, “aki wa kure”: autumn ends, the end of the season on the last day of the ninth month.
Second line, “kimi wa miyako e”: you, to the capital, set in parallel with the first line.
Third line, “kaerinaba”: naba is the perfective nu with ba, "if you have gone back."
Fourth line, “aware naru beki”: beki, the attributive of beshi, "it must be sorrowful."
Fifth line, “tabi no sora kana”: kana is exclamatory, closing on the loneliness of the one left on the road.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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