Ima wa tote koshiji ni kaeru karigane wa hane mo tayuku ya yukikaeruramu - Kinyo Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

今はとて越路に帰る雁がねは
羽もたゆくや行きかへるらむ

Roma-ji: Ima wa tote koshiji ni kaeru karigane wa hane mo tayuku ya yukikaeruramu
English Translation: Saying, now's the time,
returning along Koshi's road,
the wild geese, I wonder,
with their wings grown weary,
must they go and then come back
Meaning: The wild geese that say it is time and return along the road to Koshi, do they fly back and forth with weary wings?
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems 28

Thinking of wild geese returning in spring to the northern land of Koshi, the poet imagines that their wings must be tired from the yearly round trip, coming in autumn and leaving in spring.

First line, 'ima wa tote', means saying that now is the time to part.
Second line, 'koshiji ni kaeru', names Koshiji, the road to the northern province of Koshi, the land to which the geese return.
Third line, 'karigane wa', takes up 'the wild geese returning north' at the end of poem 27, keeping the same theme.
Fourth line, 'hane mo tayuku ya', uses tayushi, weary, with ya pairing with ramu in the final line.
Final line, 'yukikaeruramu', refers to the geese's round trip, coming in autumn and leaving in spring, with ramu expressing conjecture.
Source: Kinyo Wakashu
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