Kumogakure nakite yuku naru hatsukari no hatsuka ni miteshi hito wa koishiki

雲隠れ鳴きて行くなる初雁の
はつかに見てし人は恋しき

Roma-ji: Kumogakure nakite yuku naru hatsukari no hatsuka ni miteshi hito wa koishiki
English Translation: Hidden in the clouds,
crying as they pass away,
the first wild geese—
just so, the one I glimpsed
but faintly, I long for still.
Meaning: Like the first wild geese crying as they pass hidden in the clouds, the one I only glimpsed so faintly is the one I long for.
Commentary: Love Poems 538

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Love, on wild geese"
As the cries of the first wild geese passing hidden in the clouds are heard only faintly, the poet longs for someone he saw but for a moment. From hatsukari, "first geese," he draws the homophonous hatsuka, "faintly."
According to the notes in the base text, the Ruijū and Teika texts differ in line 4. Here the base text is followed.

Line 1 means "hidden in the clouds."
Line 2 means "they seem to go crying," naru inferring from sound.
Line 3 means "of the first wild geese," whose sound leads to hatsuka; it takes up the geese of the preceding poem.
Line 4 means "whom I saw but faintly."
Line 5 means "how I long," ending in the attributive form with exclamation; like "faintly glimpsed" in 426, it is love for someone barely seen.
Author: Minamoto no Sanetomo
Source: Kinkaishu
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