No Boat at the River

Someone is in a hurry at the water's edge, and there is no boat. The depth of the waves is named as a danger to the body. The verse turns the traveler around onto the old road, and only that return gets clear of the circling trouble.

Water that cannot be crossed sits at the center of this lot, which the book prints as Kyo, Bad fortune. Printings differ, and another gives a milder grade, Sue-kichi, Good fortune later.

Considered today, these lines picture urgency arriving at a point where urgency has no use. Going back is the only movement the verse allows, and that may be worth sitting with.