Koromode ni toritodokōri naku ko ni mo masareru ware o okite ika ni semu

衣手に取りとどこほり泣く子にも
まされる我れを置きていかにせむ

Roma-ji: Koromode ni toritodokōri naku ko ni mo masareru ware o okite ika ni semu
English Translation: Clinging to your sleeve,
holding fast, you hold me back
more than a crying
child, and yet you would leave me;
how can you go leaving me
Meaning: More than a child who clings to your sleeve and weeps, I grieve; how could you go away and leave me behind?
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 492

Headnote: "Four poems from the time Tanabe no Imiki Ichihiko was appointed to the Dazaifu"
This is the first of four poems exchanged in sorrow at parting when Tanabe no Imiki Ichihiko was appointed an official of the Dazaifu and set out for Tsukushi. More grieved than a child clinging to the departing man's sleeve and weeping, the poet asks what he means by leaving her behind. The image of a small child makes the pain of parting vivid and concrete.
At the end of the original text a small note gives the name "Toneri no Kine," identifying the author of this poem.
The author, Toneri no Kine, is a woman of whom little is known, apparently close to Tanabe no Ichihiko. Toneri is her clan name.

First line, "Clinging to your sleeve," means "at your sleeve"; koromode is a poetic word for the sleeve of a robe, suggesting a hand reaching for the one who departs.
Second line, "holding fast, you hold me back," means to cling and hold someone back, gripping a sleeve and not letting go.
Third line, "more than a crying," names a small child, with ni mo marking the standard of comparison; the weeping child is set up as the measure.
Fourth line, "child, and yet you would leave me," uses masareru, "surpassing," stressing that she grieves at parting even more than a child.
Fifth line, "how can you go leaving me," runs to eight syllables and closes by asking what he means to do, leaving her behind. The next poem answers with the same verb oku, "to leave behind."
Author: Toneri no Enami
Source: Manyoshu
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