Tamasaka ni nami no tachiyoru uraura wa nani no mirume no kai ka arubeki - Kinyo Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

たまさかに波の立ち寄る浦々は
何のみるめのかひかあるべき

Roma-ji: Tamasaka ni nami no tachiyoru uraura wa nani no mirume no kai ka arubeki
English Translation: To shores where the waves
only now and then come in,
what sea-pine weed,
what shells could ever wash ashore,
what worth could meeting bring
Meaning: On shores where the waves come in only now and then, what sea-pine weed, what shells could there be? What good is such a rare meeting?
Commentary: Book Eight Love Poems II 462

On shores where the waves come in only now and then, there can be neither sea-pine weed nor shells, the poet says. Likening a lover who visits only rarely to the waves, the poem laments that such meetings bring nothing of worth.
It shares uraura and kai with the preceding poem, 461, forming a set. The opening line tamasaka ni is the same as in poem 459 in this book.

First line, 'tamasaka ni', means now and then, the same opening line as poem 459 in this book.
Second line, 'nami no tachiyoru', means where the waves draw near, standing for a lover who visits rarely.
Third line, 'uraura wa', means the shores here and there, the same word as uraura goto ni in the second line of the preceding poem, 461.
Fourth line, 'nani no mirume no', is a pivot word in which mirume means both sea-pine weed and a chance to see one's beloved, left in kana.
Final line, 'kai ka arubeki', is a pivot word in which kai means both a seashell and worth, left in kana. The particle ka with beki, the attributive of beshi, forms a rhetorical question.
Source: Kinyo Wakashu
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