Yoshinogawa yuku se no hayami shimashiku mo yodomu koto naku arikosenu kamo

吉野川行く瀬の早みしましくも
淀むことなくありこせぬかも

Roma-ji: Yoshinogawa yuku se no hayami shimashiku mo yodomu koto naku arikosenu kamo
English Translation: As the Yoshino
runs swift in its rushing shoals,
not for a moment
would I have our love grow still—
if only it could be so!
Meaning: Like the swift shoals of the Yoshino River, may our love flow on without pausing even for a moment—if only it could be so!
Commentary: Book Two Love Poems 119

Headnote: "Four poems by Prince Yuge in longing for Princess Ki"
Drawing on the swift shoals of the Yoshino River, he wishes that their love might flow on without pausing even for a moment.
According to the headnote, these are four poems Prince Yuge composed in longing for Princess Ki. Princess Ki was a daughter of Emperor Tenmu and the prince's half-sister. The sequence moves from a wish that their love flow on unhindered, to a lament that he would rather scatter like a flower, to a resolve to seize the moment, and finally to a lament of wasting away with love. This is the first of them.
The author, Prince Yuge, was a son of Emperor Tenmu; his mother was Princess Ōe, a daughter of Emperor Tenji. He was the full younger brother of Prince Naga.

The first line, "yoshinogawa," is the river flowing through Yoshino in Yamato, known for its clear, swift current.
The second line, "yuku se no hayami," is the o ... mi construction with o omitted: because the shoals run fast. The preface runs from the first line to here and leads to "without growing still."
The third line, "shimashiku mo," means "even for a short while."
The fourth line, "yodomu koto naku," means "without the water pausing," a figure for a love that falters.
In the final line, "arikosenu kamo," kose is the irrealis of the desiderative kosu and nu kamo expresses a wish through a negative: if only it would be so.
Author: Prince Yuge
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Nagekitsutsu masurao no ko no koure koso waga kamiyui no hichite nurekere
Next Poem: Wagimoko ni koitsutsu arazu wa akihagi no sakite chirinuru hana ni aramashi o