Aimizu wa koizu aramashi o imo o mite motona kaku nomi koiba ika ni semu

相見ずは恋ひずあらましを妹を見て
もとなかくのみ恋ひばいかにせむ

Roma-ji: Aimizu wa koizu aramashi o imo o mite motona kaku nomi koiba ika ni semu
English Translation: Had I never seen you,
I'd have been spared this longing;
yet, having seen you,
if I long like this for nothing,
what, oh, what am I to do
Meaning: Had I never met you, I would not have had to long for you; but having seen you, if I go on longing like this for no reason, what am I to do?
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 586

Headnote: "A poem sent by Ōtomo no Sukune Inakimi to Tamura no Ōiratsume, daughter of Lord Ōtomo no Sukunamaro"
Though recorded as a poem from Ōtomo no Inakimi to Tamura no Ōiratsume, the left note says his elder sister Lady Sakanoue composed it on his behalf. Had he never met her, he would not have to long; having seen her, if he must go on longing like this, what is he to do? Though written for another, it plainly expresses the anguish at the start of love.
The author, Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue, was a daughter of Ōtomo no Yasumaro and half-sister of Ōtomo no Tabito. Ōtomo no Inakimi was the younger brother of Tabito and Lady Sakanoue, and Tamura no Ōiratsume was a daughter of Ōtomo no Sukunamaro.

First line, "Had I never seen you," uses zu wa for a negative supposition: if we had not met.
Second line, "I'd have been spared this longing," uses the counterfactual mashi: I would not have longed.
Third line, "yet, having seen you," means but having seen you, stating that they have in fact met.
Fourth line, "if I long like this for nothing," uses motona, "without reason, helplessly": so helplessly as this.
Fifth line, "what, oh, what am I to do," runs to eight syllables: if I long so, what shall I do?
Author: Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
Source: Manyoshu
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