Yoku wataru hito wa toshi ni mo ari to iu o itsu no ma ni zo mo aga koinikeru

よく渡る人は年にもありといふを
いつの間にぞも我が恋ひにける

Roma-ji: Yoku wataru hito wa toshi ni mo ari to iu o itsu no ma ni zo mo aga koinikeru
English Translation: Those who bear it well,
so they say, can wait a year,
and yet here am I,
in how brief a space of time,
fallen deep into longing
Meaning: They say those who are good at enduring can wait even a year to meet, yet in how short a time have I fallen so deeply into longing?
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 523

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Three poems sent by Lord Fujiwara, Master of the Capital Office, to Ōtomo no Iratsume"
Those skilled at bearing love can go a whole year without meeting, the poet says, yet somehow he has come to long this fiercely. It may have in mind the two stars of Tanabata who meet only once a year, and he marvels at the violence of a love that cannot bear even a short wait.
The author, Fujiwara no Maro, was the fourth son of Fujiwara no Fuhito and founder of the Kyōke branch of the Fujiwara. Because he headed the Capital Office, the headnote calls him "Lord Fujiwara, Master of the Capital Office."

First line, "Those who bear it well," means those who pass the days of love skillfully; wataru means to pass time.
Second line, "so they say, can wait a year," means people who can go even a year, those able to stay apart for long.
Third line, "and yet here am I," means though they say such people exist, the o being concessive.
Fourth line, "in how brief a space of time," means when did it happen, zo and mo together heightening his surprise; the construction closes with keru in the fifth line.
Fifth line, "fallen deep into longing," uses the perfective nu and keru, the attributive closing zo: I have come to long so.
Author: Fujiwara no Maro
Source: Manyoshu
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