classic waka stream

待ちかねて尋ねざりせばほととぎす
誰とか山のかひに鳴かまし
Roma-ji

Machikanete tazunezariseba hototogisu tare to ka yama no kai ni nakamashi

English Translation
Had I not sought you,
unable to wait any longer,
O little cuckoo,
with whom in the mountain gorge
would you have sung in vain
Meaning
Had I not grown impatient and come searching, cuckoo, for whom would you have sung, to no avail, in the mountain gorge?
Commentary
Book Two Summer Poems 114

Had the poet not come to the mountains, unable to wait any longer, the cuckoo would have sung in the ravine for no one to hear, to no purpose. The poem carries the pride of one who, unable to wait, came searching and so became the true listener to the cuckoo's song.
From poem 104 through poem 126 in this book, poems on the cuckoo follow one another, expressing every mood around the bird: waiting for its first song, seeking it out, rejoicing at hearing it and lamenting having missed it.
The author, Toshiyori, is Minamoto no Toshiyori. A son of Minamoto no Tsunenobu, he compiled this anthology, the Kin'yōwakashū, at the command of Retired Emperor Shirakawa, and is known for his innovative style.

First line, 'machikanete', means unable to wait, showing how strongly the cuckoo is longed for.
Second line, 'tazunezariseba', uses seba, the irrealis of the past ki with ba, forming a contrary-to-fact condition answered by mashi in the final line. The next poem, 115, also uses this seba ... mashi construction, and the two form a pair.
Third line, 'hototogisu', is placed as an address.
Fourth line, 'tare to ka yama no', means with whom, and the particle ka binds with mashi in the final line.
Final line, 'kai ni nakamashi', is a pivot word in which kai means both a narrow ravine between mountains and benefit or purpose: you would have sung in the gorge, to no avail.
Author
Minamoto no Toshiyori
Source
Kinyo Wakashu
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