Ware o nomi omou to iwaba arubeki o ide ya kokoro wa ōnusa ni shite - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

我をのみ思ふと言はばあるべきを
いでや心は大幣にして

Roma-ji: Ware o nomi omou to iwaba arubeki o ide ya kokoro wa ōnusa ni shite
English Translation: If you would tell me
that you love only me,
that would be enough,
but alas, your heart is like
the great wand pulled by many hands
Meaning: If you said you loved only me, all would be well, but alas, your heart is like the great purification wand that many hands pull toward themselves.
Commentary: Book Nineteen Miscellaneous Forms 1040

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Because after purification rites people pulled the great "ōnusa" wand toward themselves to stroke their bodies, it became a figure for a heart drawn by many. The poet resents a lover's fickleness by this comparison. Poem 706 in Book Fourteen likewise likens a fickle person to the great wand pulled by many hands. Following the preceding poem, it again uses the word "omou."
The author is unknown and is recorded as "Anonymous."

First line, "Ware o nomi," means only me.
Second line, "omou to iwaba," is conditional: if you said you loved.
Third line, "arubeki o," uses concessive "o": that would do, but.
Fourth line, "ide ya kokoro wa," opens with "ide ya," a sighing interjection: ah, well.
Fifth line, "ōnusa ni shite," trails off, leaving a lingering resonance.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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