Mukashi mishi kumoi o koite ashitazu no sawabe ni naku ya waga mi naruramu - Shika Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

昔見し雲居を恋ひて葦鶴の
沢辺に鳴くや我が身なるらむ

Roma-ji: Mukashi mishi kumoi o koite ashitazu no sawabe ni naku ya waga mi naruramu
English Translation: Longing for the clouds
on high I saw in days of old,
the crane among the reeds
cries upon the marshy shore —
is that, I wonder, my own self
Meaning: Like the reed crane crying on the marsh shore, longing for the high clouds it knew long ago — is that, I wonder, what I have become?
Commentary: Book Ten Miscellaneous Poems II 350

The poet overlays himself, grieving far from the court, on a reed crane that cries on the marsh shore longing for the sky it once knew. "Kumoi" means both the sky and the court, and the crane that once flew on high and now cries on the marsh carries the grief of one who has left court service.
Like the preceding poem, 349, it ends with "waga mi naruramu," so that two poems questioning the self, one of thin ice and one of a crane crying on the marsh, are set together.

The first line, "mukashi mishi," uses the attributive past "shi": that I once saw.
The second line, "kumoi o koite," names "kumoi," both sky and court, overlaying the crane longing for the heights with one longing for the court.
The third line, "ashitazu no," names a crane among the reeds.
The fourth line, "sawabe ni naku ya," poses a question with "ya," overlaying the crane's crying with human weeping.
The final line, "waga mi naruramu," closes "ya" with the copula "nari" and attributive "ramu," a kakari-musubi; it is the same final line as the preceding poem.
Source: Shika Wakashu
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