Masurao no omoiwabitsutsu tabi maneku nageku nageki o owanu mono kamo

ますらをの思ひわびつつたびまねく
嘆く嘆きを負はぬものかも

Roma-ji: Masurao no omoiwabitsutsu tabi maneku nageku nageki o owanu mono kamo
English Translation: I, a stalwart man,
brooding in my misery,
time and time again
sigh my sighs; do they not fall
on you, the one who caused them
Meaning: I, a stalwart man, brood in misery and sigh again and again; do my sighs not fall back upon you?
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 646

Headnote: "A poem by Ōtomo no Sukune Surugamaro"
Though he, a stalwart man, broods and sighs again and again, do his sighs not fall back upon the one who causes them? Drawing on the idea that grief falls upon the one who caused it, the poem carries resentment toward a cold partner. It seems to form an exchange with Lady Sakanoue's poem that follows.
The author, Ōtomo no Surugamaro, was an official thought to be a grandson of Ōtomo no Miyuki, and he became the husband of Lady Sakanoue's younger daughter.

First line, "I, a stalwart man," names masurao, referring to himself.
Second line, "brooding in my misery," uses omoiwabu, "to be sunk in distress."
Third line, "time and time again," means many times.
Fourth line, "sigh my sighs; do they not fall," doubles nageku nageki, "the sighs I sigh," to stress their depth.
Fifth line, "on you, the one who caused them," uses ou, "to bear," with kamo: do you not bear them?
Author: Ōtomo no Surugamaro
Source: Manyoshu
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