Waga kikishi mimi ni yoku niru ashi no ure no ashi hiku waga se tsutome tabu beshi

我が聞きし耳によく似る葦の末の
足ひく我が背つとめ給ぶべし

Roma-ji: Waga kikishi mimi ni yoku niru ashi no ure no ashi hiku waga se tsutome tabu beshi
English Translation: Just as I had heard—
so like the rumors in my ears:
like the tips of reeds,
my love, you drag your feeble legs;
take good care, and mend yourself.
Meaning: Just as I had heard it said, you drag your legs as feebly as the tips of reeds, my dear—take good care of yourself and get well.
Commentary: Book Two Love Poems 128

Headnote: "A further poem sent by the same Lady Ishikawa to Ōtomo no Tanushi Nakachiko"
Visiting Ōtomo no Tanushi, who suffered from an ailment of the legs, she tells him, still teasing, that he drags his legs just as she had heard and should take good care of himself.
A left note says she sent this poem to inquire after Nakachiko because he had a disease of the legs. It follows the preceding exchange, and beneath the teasing a note of care can be glimpsed.
The author, Lady Ishikawa, is otherwise unknown.

The first line, "waga kikishi," means "that I had heard."
The second line, "mimi ni yoku niru," means "closely resembling what my ears had heard."
The third line, "ashi no ure no," means "of the reed tips," working as a preface that leads by sound to ashi, "legs." The thin, frail tips of reeds overlay the image of weak legs.
The fourth line, "ashi hiku waga se," means "my dear, who drags his legs," referring to Tanushi's ailment.
In the final line, "tsutome tabu beshi," tsutomu means to take care of one's health, tabu is honorific, and beshi is advisory: you should look after yourself.
Author: Lady Ishikawa
Source: Manyoshu
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