Koi ni mo zo hito wa shini suru minasegawa shita yu ware yasu tsuki ni hi ni ke ni

恋にもぞ人は死にする水無瀬川
下ゆ我れ痩す月に日に異に

Roma-ji: Koi ni mo zo hito wa shini suru minasegawa shita yu ware yasu tsuki ni hi ni ke ni
English Translation: Even out of love
people die, so it is said;
like the Minase stream
flowing hidden, I waste away
more with every month and day
Meaning: People can die even of love; like the Minase River that flows unseen beneath its dry bed, I waste away in secret, more with every month and day.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 598

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Twenty-four poems sent by Lady Kasa to Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi"
People may die even of love, she says, and like the Minase River whose water runs hidden beneath the ground, she wastes away unseen. The image of the hidden river vividly conveys a love's suffering that does not show on the surface.
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, "Even out of love," uses mo zo, expressing apprehension: even from love.
Second line, "people die, so it is said," closes the zo construction with the attributive suru. The poem breaks after this line.
Third line, "like the Minase stream," names a river whose water runs underground, a pillow word for shita, "beneath."
Fourth line, "flowing hidden, I waste away," uses shita yu, "within, unseen": I grow thin in secret.
Fifth line, "more with every month and day," means increasingly, month by month and day by day.
Author: Lady Kasa
Source: Manyoshu
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