Kusamakura tabi ni hisashiku narinureba na o koso omoe na koi so wagimo

草枕旅に久しくなりぬれば
汝をこそ思へな恋ひそ我妹

Roma-ji: Kusamakura tabi ni hisashiku narinureba na o koso omoe na koi so wagimo
English Translation: Pillowed on the grass,
since my journey has grown long,
it is I who think
of you, love; so do not pine,
O my dearest wife, do not
Meaning: Since my journey has grown long, it is I who think of you; so do not pine for me, my dearest wife.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 622

Headnote: "A poem by Saeki no Sukune Azumahito in reply"
The husband answers his wife's poem: since his journey has grown long, it is he who thinks of her, so she should not pine so. Where the preceding poem found the cause of the dream in the wife's longing, this one replies by revealing the husband's own feelings.
The author, Saeki no Azumahito, was a Nara-period official who served as secretary to the Commissioner of the Saikaidō.

First line, "Pillowed on the grass," is kusamakura, a pillow word for "journey."
Second line, "since my journey has grown long," means my travels have lasted long.
Third line, "it is I who think," uses the perfective nure and -ba: since it has become so.
Fourth line, "of you, love; so do not pine," uses koso, closed by the perfective omoe: it is you I think of. The poem breaks after this line.
Fifth line, "O my dearest wife, do not," uses the prohibitive na ... so: do not long for me, my wife.
Author: Saeki no Azumahito
Source: Manyoshu
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