Okureite koitsutsu arazu wa ki no kuni no imose no yama ni aramashi mono o

後れ居て恋ひつつあらずは紀の国の
妹背の山にあらましものを

Roma-ji: Okureite koitsutsu arazu wa ki no kuni no imose no yama ni aramashi mono o
English Translation: Left behind to wait,
rather than go on longing,
in the land of Ki
on the Mounts of Wife and Husband
would that I had been instead
Meaning: Rather than stay behind longing for you, I wish I had been one of the Imo and Se mountains of Kii, standing side by side as wife and husband.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 544

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Envoy"
This is the envoy to the long poem (543) that Kasa no Kanamura composed at a maiden's request, to be sent to someone in the emperor's train on the progress to Kii in the tenth month of the first year of Jinki. Rather than stay behind and go on longing, she says, she wishes she had been the Imo and Se mountains of Kii that stand side by side like a married couple. The names "Wife Mountain" and "Husband Mountain" call up a husband and wife always close together.
The author, Kasa no Kanamura, was a court poet of the early Nara period who left many poems composed on imperial progresses. This poem was written on behalf of the maiden, in her voice.

First line, "Left behind to wait," means remaining behind, the position of one left by a departing husband.
Second line, "rather than go on longing," runs to eight syllables; zu wa here means rather than, instead of.
Third line, "in the land of Ki," names the province of Kii, the destination of the progress.
Fourth line, "on the Mounts of Wife and Husband," names Imoyama and Seyama facing each other across the Ki River, likened to a married pair.
Fifth line, "would that I had been instead," uses the counterfactual mashi: I wish I had been so, closing on an impossible wish.
Author: Kasa no Kanamura
Source: Manyoshu
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