Utsusemi no hitome o shigemi ishihashi no majikaki kimi ni koiwataru kamo

うつせみの人目を繁み石橋の
間近き君に恋ひわたるかも

Roma-ji: Utsusemi no hitome o shigemi ishihashi no majikaki kimi ni koiwataru kamo
English Translation: In this fleeting world,
since the eyes of folk are many,
like the stepping stones,
you so near, and yet I go
on and on in longing still
Meaning: Because so many eyes are watching in this world, I go on longing for you, though you are as near as one stepping stone to the next.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 597

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Twenty-four poems sent by Lady Kasa to Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi"
Because so many eyes are watching, she cannot meet him though he is close by, and only goes on longing. The short gap between stepping stones conveys the frustration of being near yet unable to meet. Poems 599 and 600 in this book end with the same line, koiwataru kamo, so that three poems close in the same words.
The author, Lady Kasa, was a woman poet of the Nara period who sent many love poems to Ōtomo no Yakamochi. Little else is known of her.

First line, "In this fleeting world," is utsusemi no, a pillow word for "people" and "world," meaning of this present life.
Second line, "since the eyes of folk are many," uses o ... mi for a reason: because watchful eyes abound.
Third line, "like the stepping stones," names ishihashi, stones set across a shallow stream; their closeness leads to "near" in the fourth line.
Fourth line, "you so near, and yet I go," means to you who are close at hand.
Fifth line, "on and on in longing still," means I keep on longing, with the exclamatory kamo.
Author: Lady Kasa
Source: Manyoshu
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