Aware nari kumoi no yoso ni yuku kari mo kakaru sugata ni narinu to omoeba

あはれなり雲居のよそに行く雁も
かかる姿になりぬと思へば

Roma-ji: Aware nari kumoi no yoso ni yuku kari mo kakaru sugata ni narinu to omoeba
English Translation: How sad it is!
Even the wild goose that flew
far beyond the clouds
has come to such a shape as this,
when I stop and think of it.
Meaning: How pitiful it is, when I think that even the wild goose that flew so far beyond the clouds has come to such a state as this.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 701

Headnote: "On seeing a wild goose laid out in a dreadful state upon a thing called a chopping board"
Seeing a wild goose laid pitifully on a chopping board, the poet grieves that the bird which once flew freely far beyond the clouds has come to this, showing deep compassion for living things.
The Ruijū text ends the headnote with "composed on seeing" and spells lines 1 and 3 differently.

Line 1 means "how pitiful," with a break after the line.
Line 2 means "far off among the clouds."
Line 3 means "the goose that flies."
Line 4 means "to such a form," the goose on the board, set against its flight in line 2.
Line 5 means "when I think it has become," the inversion giving the reason for "pitiful" last.
Author: Minamoto no Sanetomo
Source: Kinkaishu
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