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- Manyoshu
Akihagi no ue ni okitaru shiratsuyu no ke ka mo shinamashi koitsutsu arazu wa
Like the white dew lying on the autumn bush clover, should I simply vanish—rather than go on longing like this?
Waga yado no akihagi no ue ni oku tsuyu no ichishiroku shi mo are koime ya mo
Like the dew lying on the autumn bush clover at my home, so plain to see—would I ever love so openly? Never.
Aki no ho o shino ni oshinabe oku tsuyu no ke ka mo shinamashi koitsutsu arazu wa
Like the dew that lies bending the autumn ears of grain low, should I simply vanish—rather than go on longing like this?
Tsuyujimo ni koromode nurete ima dani mo imogari yukana yo wa fukenu tomo
Though my sleeves are wet with dew and frost, I will go to my beloved this very moment—even if the night grows late.
Akihagi no eda mo tōo ni oku tsuyu no ke ka mo shinamashi koitsutsu arazu wa
Like the dew that lies so heavy it bends the branches of the autumn bush clover, should I simply vanish—rather than go on longing like this?
Akihagi no ue ni shiratsuyu oku goto ni mitsutsu zo shinou kimi ga sugata o
Each time the white dew settles on the autumn bush clover, I gaze at it and remember your form.
Wagimoko wa koromo ni aranamu akikaze no samuki kono koro shita ni kimashi o
If only my beloved were a robe! In these days of cold autumn wind, I would wear her next to my skin.
Hatsusekaze kaku fuku yoi wa itsu made ka koromo katashiki waga hitori nemu
On a night when the wind of Hatsuse blows like this, how long must I spread out only one sleeve of my robe and sleep alone?
Akihagi o chirasu nagame no furu koro wa hitori okiite kouru yo zo ōki
In the season of long rains that scatter the autumn bush clover, many are the nights I sit up alone, longing.
Nagatsuki no shigure no ame no yamagiri no ibuseki aga mune ta o miba yamamu
Like the mountain mist in the showers of the Ninth Month, my heart is heavy and gloomy—whom must I see before it clears?
Korogi no machiyorokoburu aki no yo o nuru shirushi nashi makura to ware wa
The autumn night that the crickets await with such delight is no use for sleeping—for my pillow and for me.
Asagasumi kabiya ga shita ni naku kawazu koe dani kikaba are koime ya mo
Like the frogs singing beneath the smudge-fire hut veiled in morning haze—if only I could hear your voice, would I long for you so?
Idete inaba amatobu kari no nakinubemi kyō kyō to iu ni toshi zo henikeru
If I leave, I fear I will cry like the wild geese flying through the sky—so I kept saying "today, today," and a whole year has gone by.
Saoshika no asa fusu ono no kusa wakami kakuraikanete hito ni shirayu na
Like the stag lying in the morning field whose young grass is too short to hide him—don't let others find out about us.
Saoshika no ono no kusabushi ichishiroku waga towanaku ni hito no shireraku
Plain as the stag's bed pressed in the grass of the field—though I have not visited you, people have found out.
Koyoi no akatokigutachi naku tazu no omoi wa sugizu koi koso masare
Like the crane crying as tonight's pre-dawn hours wane, my longing does not pass—my love only grows stronger.