Tamazusa wa kakete kitaredo karigane no uwa no sora ni mo kikoyu naru kana - Kinyo Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

玉章はかけて来たれど雁がねの
うはの空にも聞こゆなるかな

Roma-ji: Tamazusa wa kakete kitaredo karigane no uwa no sora ni mo kikoyu naru kana
English Translation: Though they come to us
with letters bound to their wings,
the wild geese's cries
sound from high up in the sky,
as if their minds were far away
Meaning: Though the wild geese come carrying letters on their wings, their cries sound from high in the sky, as distant and absent as a wandering mind.
Commentary: Book Three Autumn Poems 220

Wild geese are said to carry letters on their wings, yet their cries sound from high in the sky, as if their minds were elsewhere. Drawing on the tale of geese bearing messages, the poem overlays the frustration of awaited news that does not come with the remoteness of the geese's cries.
The legend of the goose messenger derives from the story of Su Wu of the Han, who tied a letter to a goose's leg.
Poems 220 and 221 in this book are poems on the wild geese, singing of their cries as they cross the sky.

First line, 'tamazusa wa', uses tamazusa, a letter, for the message the geese carry.
Second line, 'kakete kitaredo', means though they come with it hung on them, a concession.
Third line, 'karigane no', uses karigane, the cry of wild geese or the geese themselves.
Fourth line, 'uwa no sora ni mo', is a pivot word in which uwa no sora means both the upper sky and an absent, distracted mind.
Final line, 'kikoyu naru kana', uses naru, the attributive form of the inferential nari: it seems to be heard; kana is exclamatory.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Kinyo Wakashu
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