That I long for you
Never again will I say.
When the under-cord
Comes undone, let people know
That alone will tell my love.

Meaning

I will no longer say that I long for you. When the cord of your under-robe comes undone, let that be how you know the feeling I hold for you.

Commentary

111. One Never Yet Seen

There was a certain man. Someone in the household of a high-ranking woman had died. The man sent the woman a love poem under the pretense of mourning, but the woman replied in verse that his feelings lacked sincerity and must be false.
The poem is the man’s reply to the woman’s poem: “As a sign they say / The cord beneath should come loose / When one is loved so. / Yet my under-cord stays tied— / So you cannot love as said.”

Having at least managed to convey his feelings to the high-ranking woman, the man composes this poem to say that he will prove that his feelings are genuine.

This poem is included in the Gosen Wakashū as a poem by Ariwara no Motokata.

Source

Ise Monogatari

Other

That I long for you Never again will I say. When the under-cord Comes undone, let people know That alone will tell my love.

That I long for you
Never again will I say.
When the under-cord
Comes undone, let people know
That alone will tell my love.