Itokayama kuru hito mo naki yūgure ni kokorobosoku mo yobukodori kana - Kinyo Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

糸鹿山くる人もなき夕暮に
心細くも呼子鳥かな

Roma-ji: Itokayama kuru hito mo naki yūgure ni kokorobosoku mo yobukodori kana
English Translation: On Mount Itoka,
where no one comes to spin the threads,
in the evening gloom
so forlorn and lonesome sounds
the calling bird that calls for none
Meaning: On Mount Itoka, in the evening dusk when no one comes, how forlornly the calling bird cries out as if summoning someone.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems 26

In the mountain dusk, where no one comes to visit, a bird cries as if calling for people. The loneliness of calling when no one comes is expressed through the very name of the bird.

First line, 'itokayama', is a famous place in Kii whose name contains the character for thread. Following the willow threads of the previous poems, the sequence continues through this association.
Second line, 'kuru hito mo naki', contains kuru, a pivot word meaning both to come and to reel thread, the latter associated with the thread in Itoka.
Third line, 'yūgure ni', is set as the hour when longing for company grows strong.
Fourth line, 'kokorobosoku mo', means forlornly, expressing the poet's feeling as well as the impression of the bird's cry.
Final line, 'yobukodori kana', names the yobukodori, a bird whose call seems to summon people; its identity is debated. The poem ends on a noun with the exclamatory kana.
Source: Kinyo Wakashu
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