Koikoite aitaru mono o tsuki shi areba yo wa komoruramu shimashi wa arimate

恋ひ恋ひて逢ひたるものを月しあれば
夜は隠るらむしましはあり待て

Roma-ji: Koikoite aitaru mono o tsuki shi areba yo wa komoruramu shimashi wa arimate
English Translation: Longing, longing so,
we have met at last, and yet;
while the moon still shines,
deep must be the night as yet;
stay a little while, and wait
Meaning: After so much longing we have met at last; while the moon is still out the night must yet be deep, so stay a little while longer.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 667

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Two poems by Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue"
After so much longing they have met at last, yet he is leaving; she holds him back, saying the moon is out and the night must still be deep, so let him wait a while. It opens like poem 661 in this book with koikoite, "longing, longing."
According to the left note, Lady Sakanoue's mother, Lady Ishikawa, and Mushimaro's mother, Lady Azumi, were sisters living together and close; so Lady Sakanoue and Mushimaro were not distant but talked intimately and exchanged playful poems in question and answer.
The author, Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue, was a daughter of Ōtomo no Yasumaro and half-sister of Ōtomo no Tabito. She left many poems in the Man'yōshū and is esteemed as a leading woman poet.

First line, "Longing, longing so," opens the same way as poem 661.
Second line, "we have met at last, and yet," uses the concessive mono o: though we have met.
Third line, "while the moon still shines," uses the emphatic shi: since the moon is out.
Fourth line, "deep must be the night as yet," uses komoru, "to lie deep": the night must still be deep. The poem breaks after this line.
Fifth line, "stay a little while, and wait," runs to eight syllables: wait here just a little.
Author: Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
Source: Manyoshu
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