Okura ra wa ima wa makaramu ko nakuramu sore sono haha mo wa o matsuramu zo

憶良らは今は罷らむ子泣くらむ
それその母も我を待つらむぞ

Roma-ji: Okura ra wa ima wa makaramu ko nakuramu sore sono haha mo wa o matsuramu zo
English Translation: I, Okura, sirs,
will now take my leave of you—
my child must be crying,
and the mother of that child,
she too must be waiting for me.
Meaning: I, humble Okura, will take my leave now. My child must be crying at home—and its mother, too, must be waiting for me.
Commentary: Book Three Miscellaneous Poems 337

Headnote: "A poem by Yamanoue no Okura no Omi on leaving a banquet"
This is a courteous farewell composed on leaving a banquet early. Calling himself humbly "Okura and such," he gives with humor the reason for rising: his child crying at home and the child's mother waiting. Within the lilting rhythm of ramu repeated three times shines Okura's characteristic warmth toward his family. It is taken to be from a banquet at Dazaifu, and Ōtomo no Tabito's poems in praise of sake follow from the next poem.
The poet, Yamanoue no Okura, was a Nara-period official who went to Tang China as a junior secretary of an embassy and later became Governor of Chikuzen. He is known for thoughtful poems that look closely at human life and society.

First line "I, Okura, sirs": ra is a humble suffix, "this Okura."
Second line "will now take my leave of you": makaru means to withdraw from a superior's presence, and mu expresses intention. The sentence breaks here.
Third line "my child must be crying": ramu is present conjecture; the sentence breaks again.
Fourth line "and the mother of that child": sore repeats the pointing word to steady the rhythm.
Fifth line "she too must be waiting for me": the third ramu, capped by zo, firmly states his reason for leaving.
Author: Yamanoue no Okura
Source: Manyoshu
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