Waga seko ga katami no koromo tsumadoi ni aga mi wa sakeji koto towazu tomo

我が背子が形見の衣妻どひに
我が身は離けじ言とはずとも

Roma-ji: Waga seko ga katami no koromo tsumadoi ni aga mi wa sakeji koto towazu tomo
English Translation: Your keepsake, dear one,
this robe you have given me,
as your courting pledge,
I will never part from me,
though it cannot speak a word
Meaning: Your robe, my love, the keepsake you have given me, I will keep close to me as the pledge of your courtship, though it cannot speak to me.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 637

Headnote: "Another poem sent in reply by the maiden"
Given a robe as a keepsake by Prince Yuhara in the preceding poem, the maiden answers that she will keep it always close to her as the pledge of his courtship, though it cannot speak. Treasuring the robe as if it were the man himself, she shows a touching devotion.
The author is a woman who exchanged poems with Prince Yuhara; her name has not come down.

First line, "Your keepsake, dear one," begins with "my dearest's."
Second line, "this robe you have given me," means the robe given as a keepsake, taking up "this robe of mine, as a keepsake I present" from the preceding poem.
Third line, "as your courting pledge," names tsumadoi, a man's visits to a woman in courtship.
Fourth line, "I will never part from me," uses ji, negative intention: I will not put it away from me. The poem breaks after this line.
Fifth line, "though it cannot speak a word," means even though it says nothing, lamenting that the robe cannot talk to her as her lover would.
Source: Manyoshu
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