Waga tamoto makamu to omowamu masurao wa ochimizu motome shiraka oinikeri

我がたもとまかむと思はむ大夫は
変若水求め白髪生ひにけり

Roma-ji: Waga tamoto makamu to omowamu masurao wa ochimizu motome shiraka oinikeri
English Translation: You who think to rest
pillowed on my sleeve tonight,
stalwart gentleman,
seek the water that makes young;
white hair has grown on you
Meaning: If you, fine gentleman, hope to lay your head on my sleeve, you had better go and find the water of youth, for white hairs have grown on you.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 627

Headnote: "A poem sent in reply by a maiden to Saeki no Sukune Akamaro"
A maiden courted by Saeki no Akamaro sent back this poem. If he means to sleep with her, she says, let him go find the water of youth, for he has white hair already, teasing him about his age. It is a playful poem that parries his courtship with wit, and Akamaro answers it in the next poem.
The author is a woman who exchanged poems with Saeki no Akamaro; her name has not come down.

First line, "You who think to rest," means my sleeve; to pillow one's head on a woman's sleeve meant to sleep with her.
Second line, "pillowed on my sleeve tonight," uses maku, "to use as a pillow": thinking to pillow on it.
Third line, "stalwart gentleman," names masurao, a fine man, used half in jest of Akamaro.
Fourth line, "seek the water that makes young," names ochimizu, the water of rejuvenation believed to be in the moon: go and seek it.
Fifth line, "white hair has grown on you," runs to eight syllables, with keri marking realization: white hair has grown, I see.
Source: Manyoshu
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