Takunawa no nagaki inochi o horishiku wa taezute hito o mimaku hori koso

栲縄の長き命を欲りしくは
絶えずて人を見まく欲りこそ

Roma-ji: Takunawa no nagaki inochi o horishiku wa taezute hito o mimaku hori koso
English Translation: Like a mulberry rope,
long, so long, a life I craved;
why I wished it so
was that I might without end
look upon you, only that
Meaning: If I have wished for a life as long as a mulberry-bark rope, it is only so that I might go on seeing you without end.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 704

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Two poems by Kamunagibe no Maso no Otome"
If she has wished for a long life, it is only so that she can go on seeing him without end. A simple, frank poem that ties the length of life to the endurance of love.
The author, Kamunagibe no Maso no Otome, is a woman of whom little is known.

First line, "Like a mulberry rope," is takunawa no, a pillow word for "long," since rope of taku fiber is long.
Second line, "long, so long, a life I craved," means a long life.
Third line, "why I wished it so," uses horishiku, the nominalized form of horu: what I desired.
Fourth line, "was that I might without end," means without a break, you.
Fifth line, "look upon you, only that," means it is because I wish to see you, closing emphatically with koso.
Author: Kamunagibe no Maso no Otome
Source: Manyoshu
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