Masokagami miakanu kimi ni okurete ya ashita yūbe ni sabitsutsu oramu

まそ鏡見飽かぬ君に後れてや
朝夕にさびつつ居らむ

Roma-ji: Masokagami miakanu kimi ni okurete ya ashita yūbe ni sabitsutsu oramu
English Translation: Like a polished mirror,
you whom I could never tire of,
left behind by you,
morning and evening now,
shall I pass my days forlorn
Meaning: Left behind by you, whom I could never tire of seeing, like a clear mirror, must I now spend my mornings and evenings in loneliness?
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 572

Headnote: "Two poems sent by the Novice Mansei to Lord Ōtomo, Governor-General of the Dazaifu, after he had gone up to the capital"
After Ōtomo no Tabito returned to the capital, the Novice Mansei, who remained in Tsukushi, sent him two poems, of which this is the first. Left behind by one he never tired of seeing, must he now spend his mornings and evenings in loneliness? He voices the loneliness of losing a close friend in words like those of a love poem.
The author, the Novice Mansei, was known in lay life as Kasa no Maro; after serving as governor of Mino and elsewhere, he took orders. As superintendent for the construction of the Kanzeonji temple in Tsukushi, he was there and associated with Tabito and his circle.

First line, "Like a polished mirror," is masokagami, a clear mirror, a pillow word for "see."
Second line, "you whom I could never tire of," means you whom I never weary of seeing.
Third line, "left behind by you," uses okuru, "to be left behind," with the questioning ya, closed by the attributive mu in the fifth line.
Fourth line, "morning and evening now," means all day long.
Fifth line, "shall I pass my days forlorn," uses sabu, "to feel desolate," and the continuative tsutsu: shall I go on in loneliness?
Author: The Novice Mansei
Source: Manyoshu
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