Nakanaka ni hito to arazu wa sakatsubo ni narinite shikamo sake ni shiminamu

なかなかに人とあらずは酒壺に
なりにてしかも酒に染みなむ

Roma-ji: Nakanaka ni hito to arazu wa sakatsubo ni narinite shikamo sake ni shiminamu
English Translation: Rather than to be
half-heartedly a man,
as a wine jar, oh,
would that I might be made one—
steeped in wine for evermore!
Meaning: Rather than being a halfway human, I would rather become a wine jar—then I could soak in sake forever.
Commentary: Book Three Miscellaneous Poems 343

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Thirteen poems in praise of sake by the Governor-General of Dazaifu, Lord Ōtomo"
This is the sixth of the thirteen poems in praise of sake by the Governor-General Lord Ōtomo. Rather than being a mere human, he would sooner become a wine jar steeped in sake—an outlandish wish. It draws on the tale of Zheng Quan of Wu in China, who wished to be buried beside a potter's house so that, turned to clay, he might become a wine jar. It is a humorous poem expressing love of wine in extreme form.
The thirteen poems in praise of sake form a sequence in which Tabito, at Dazaifu, extols wine as a way of rejecting worldly cleverness and consoling life's sorrows, drawing on Chinese precedents such as the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove.
The poet, Ōtomo no Tabito, was a son of Ōtomo no Yasumaro. He served as Middle Counselor and Governor-General of Dazaifu before rising to Great Counselor, and died in Tenpyō 3 (731). Steeped in Chinese letters, he was at the center of a poetic circle with Yamanoue no Okura and others while serving in Tsukushi.

First line "Rather than to be": nakanaka ni is an adverb meaning "half-heartedly," "all too uncertainly."
Second line "half-heartedly a man": zu wa means "rather than being."
Third line "as a wine jar" names the vessel for sake.
Fourth line "would that I might be made one": teshika is a particle of wishing and mo exclamatory. The sentence breaks here.
Fifth line "steeped in wine for evermore": na is perfective and mu conjectural, giving the reason for his wish.
Author: Ōtomo no Tabito
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Iwamu sube semu sube shirazu kiwamarite tōtoki mono wa sake ni shi arurashi
Next Poem: Ana miniku sakashira o su to sake nomanu hito o yoku miba saru ni ka mo nimu