Wagimoko ni koite midareba kurubeki ni kakete yosemu to aga koisomeshi

我妹子に恋ひて乱ればくるべきに
懸けて寄せむと我が恋ひそめし

Roma-ji: Wagimoko ni koite midareba kurubeki ni kakete yosemu to aga koisomeshi
English Translation: For my own dear one,
if in love my heart should tangle,
on the reeling wheel
I would wind it, draw it in;
so I thought when love began
Meaning: When I began to love you, I thought that if my heart grew tangled with longing, I would wind it on a reel and gather it in.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 642

Headnote: "A poem by Prince Yuhara"
Placed at the close of the exchange between Prince Yuhara and the maiden, this looks back to the start of his love: he began to love thinking that if his heart grew tangled, he would wind it on a reel and gather it in, as one does tangled thread. It is a witty poem using the spinning reel as a figure.
The author, Prince Yuhara, was a son of Prince Shiki and a poet of the Nara period known for the fresh clarity of his style.

First line, "For my own dear one," means for my beloved.
Second line, "if in love my heart should tangle," means if I were thrown into disarray by love, calling up tangled thread.
Third line, "on the reeling wheel," names kurubeki, a device for reeling thread.
Fourth line, "I would wind it, draw it in," means to hang it there and draw it together.
Fifth line, "so I thought when love began," means I began to love; it ends in the attributive shi, leaving a lingering tone.
Author: Prince Yuhara
Source: Manyoshu
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