Nakanaka ni tayu to shi iwaba kaku bakari iki no o ni shite are koime ya mo

なかなかに絶ゆとし言はばかくばかり
息の緒にして我れ恋ひめやも

Roma-ji: Nakanaka ni tayu to shi iwaba kaku bakari iki no o ni shite are koime ya mo
English Translation: Better, after all,
if you'd say "our bond is done";
then would I like this,
staking all my breath of life,
go on longing for you so
Meaning: If only you would say outright that our bond is ended, would I go on longing for you like this, with my very life?
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 681

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Three poems by Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi on parting from a friend"
If only the friend would say plainly that their bond is over, he would not long for him so desperately, he laments, grieving over the other's vague attitude.
The author, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, was the son of Ōtomo no Tabito and a poet thought to have been deeply involved in compiling the Man'yōshū. He later rose to the rank of Middle Counselor.

First line, "Better, after all," means rather, instead.
Second line, "if you'd say 'our bond is done,'" uses the emphatic shi: if you said it is over.
Third line, "then would I like this," means to this extent.
Fourth line, "staking all my breath of life," uses iki no o, life itself.
Fifth line, "go on longing for you so," uses the rhetorical meya mo: would I long so? No.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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