Kaeru kari nishi e yukiseba tamazusa ni omou koto o ba kakitsuketemashi - Shika Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

帰る雁西へ行きせば玉章に
思ふことをば書きつけてまし

Roma-ji: Kaeru kari nishi e yukiseba tamazusa ni omou koto o ba kakitsuketemashi
English Translation: The wild geese going home —
if only they flew westward,
then upon a letter
all the things within my heart
I would write and send with them
Meaning: If only the geese flying home were bound for the west, I would write down all that is in my heart and send it with them.
Commentary: Book Ten Miscellaneous Poems II 371

If the geese returning north in spring were flying west instead, the poet says, he would write his thoughts in a letter and entrust it to them. Drawing on the tale of geese carrying letters, the poem seems to express a wish to send word to the Pure Land said to lie in the west, or to someone in the west.

The first line, "kaeru kari," names the geese returning north in spring.
The second line, "nishi e yukiseba," is a counterfactual condition with "se," the irrealis of the past "ki," and "ba": if they went west, answering "mashi" in the final line.
The third line, "tamazusa ni" (in a letter), draws on the tale of geese carrying letters.
The fourth line, "omou koto o ba," singles out what is in the heart with "o ba."
The final line, "kakitsuketemashi," ends with the counterfactual "mashi": I would write it down.
Source: Shika Wakashu
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