Furinishi omina ni shite ya kaku bakari koi ni shizumamu tawarawa no goto

古りにし嫗にしてやかくばかり
恋に沈まむ手童のごと

Roma-ji: Furinishi omina ni shite ya kaku bakari koi ni shizumamu tawarawa no goto
English Translation: An old woman, I,
grown aged and worn with years—
should I sink like this
so deeply into love, just like
a little child in arms?
Meaning: An old woman worn with years, should I sink so deeply into love—like a little child held in someone's arms?
Commentary: Book Two Love Poems 129

Headnote: "A poem sent by Lady Ishikawa, an attendant in the palace of Prince Ōtsu, to Ōtomo no Sukune Sukunamaro"
Looking at herself, she confesses her love: though she is an old woman, she has sunk into love like a small child.
According to the headnote, this was sent to Ōtomo no Sukunamaro by Lady Ishikawa, who served in the palace of Prince Ōtsu. A note to the headnote says that her familiar name was Yamada no Iratsume and that Sukunamaro was the third son of the lord who was Major Counselor and General.
The author, Lady Ishikawa, according to the note to the headnote, was called Yamada no Iratsume and served in the palace of Prince Ōtsu.
A note records a variant giving the third and fourth lines as "koi o dani shinobikanetemu." Here the main text is followed.

The first line, "furinishi," means "grown old" and is short by one syllable, with only four.
In the second line, "omina ni shite ya," omina means an old woman, and ya is a rhetorical binding particle concluding in the attributive mu of the fourth line.
The third line, "kaku bakari," means "to this extent."
The fourth line, "koi ni shizumamu," means "should I sink into love?" resolving the ya of the second line.
The final line, "tawarawa no goto," means "like a little child held in arms." Placed by inversion at the end, it sets the image of a woman drowning in love against the old age of the first line.
Author: Lady Ishikawa
Source: Manyoshu
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