Ama no gawa yokogiru kumo ya tanabata no soradakimono no keburi naruramu - Shika Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

天の川横切る雲やたなばたの
空薫物の煙なるらむ

Roma-ji: Ama no gawa yokogiru kumo ya tanabata no soradakimono no keburi naruramu
English Translation: Across the River of Heaven
is the cloud that drifts athwart
the Weaver Maid's
burning of hidden incense,
the smoke of its fragrance rising?
Meaning: Could the cloud drifting across the River of Heaven be the smoke of incense the Weaver Maid burns to scent her rooms?
Commentary: Book Three Autumn Poems 88

Headnote: "Composed when he presented a hundred-poem sequence at the command of the New Retired Emperor"
This is one of the hundred poems presented by Fujiwara no Akisuke, compiler of the Shikashu, at the command of the New Retired Emperor, Sutoku. The sequence is known as the Kyūan Hundred-Poem Sequence.
Likening the cloud drifting across the River of Heaven to the smoke of incense the Weaver Maid burns as she waits for her lover, the poem has a graceful conceit, drawing a heavenly scene into the life of a court lady.

The first line, "ama no gawa," is the River of Heaven of Tanabata night, and the same words recur in the Tanabata poems that follow.
The second line, "yokogiru kumo ya," is the cloud crossing the river, with ya marking the question answered by ramu in the last line.
The third line, "tanabata no," refers to the Weaver Maid, the one burning the incense of the fourth line.
The fourth line, "soradakimono no," is incense burned so its fragrance seems to come from nowhere, suggesting the Weaver Maid's preparations for the meeting.
The last line, "keburi naruramu," asks "could it be smoke?" closing with the technique of likening the cloud to incense smoke.
Author: Fujiwara no Akisuke
Source: Shika Wakashu
Prev Poem: Ika nareba todaesomekemu ama no gawa ause ni watasu kasasagi no hashi
Next Poem: Obotsukana kawari ya shinishi ama no gawa toshi ni hitotabi wataru se nareba