Koishinamu nochi wa nani semu ikeru hi no tame koso imo o mimaku horisure

恋ひ死なむ後は何せむ生ける日の
ためこそ妹を見まく欲りすれ

Roma-ji: Koishinamu nochi wa nani semu ikeru hi no tame koso imo o mimaku horisure
English Translation: If I die of love,
what good will it do me then;
for the days I live,
it is for them, above all,
that I long to see my love
Meaning: What use will it be once I have died of love? It is for the days while I am alive that I long to see you.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 560

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Four love poems by Ōtomo no Sukune Momoyo, Senior Secretary of the Dazaifu"
Once he has died of longing, the poet says, it will be of no use; it is while he is alive that he wants to see her. By setting death against life, it strongly presses the urgent wish to meet now.
The author, Ōtomo no Momoyo, was an official of the Ōtomo clan who served under Ōtomo no Tabito as Senior Secretary of the Dazaifu.

First line, "If I die of love," uses mu hypothetically: should I die of longing.
Second line, "what good will it do me then," is rhetorical: what use would it be afterward? None. The poem breaks after this line.
Third line, "for the days I live," means the days while I am living, set against "die" in the first line.
Fourth line, "it is for them, above all," singles out "for the sake of" with koso, closed by sure in the fifth line.
Fifth line, "that I long to see my love," uses mimaku, the nominalized form of mimu: I wish to see her. Sure is the perfective ending that koso requires.
Author: Ōtomo no Momoyo
Source: Manyoshu
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