Ama no gawa tamahashi isogi watasanamu asase tadoru mo yo no fukeyuku ni - Shika Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

天の川玉橋急ぎ渡さなむ
浅瀬たどるも夜の更けゆくに

Roma-ji: Ama no gawa tamahashi isogi watasanamu asase tadoru mo yo no fukeyuku ni
English Translation: Over the River of Heaven
hurry and lay a jeweled bridge,
I wish it so,
for even as they grope the shallows,
the night grows deeper still
Meaning: I wish someone would hurry and lay a jeweled bridge across the River of Heaven, for while the lovers grope their way through the shallows, the night is wearing on.
Commentary: Book Three Autumn Poems 90

Headnote: "Composed on Tanabata"
This is a poem on Tanabata by Fujiwara no Akisue, Master of the Office of Palace Repairs.
On the one night of meeting each year, groping through the shallows wastes precious time, so the poet wishes a bridge were laid quickly. Taking up the preceding poem's worry over shifting fords, it voices the stars' impatience.

The first line, "ama no gawa," follows the preceding poem, 89, in naming the River of Heaven.
The second line, "tamahashi isogi," means "quickly, a jeweled bridge," tama being a word of praise.
The third line, "watasanamu," expresses the wish "please lay it," and the poem pauses here.
The fourth line, "asase tadoru mo," means "even while groping across the shallows," carrying on the theme of the ford.
The last line, "yo no fukeyuku ni," gives the reason, "as the night deepens," and the inversion heightens the urgency of the wish.
Author: Fujiwara no Akisue
Source: Shika Wakashu
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