Tsure mo naku aruramu hito o katamoi ni ware wa omoeba wabishiku mo aru ka

つれもなくあるらむ人を片思に
我れは思へばわびしくもあるか

Roma-ji: Tsure mo naku aruramu hito o katamoi ni ware wa omoeba wabishiku mo aru ka
English Translation: One who must be cold,
unconcerned with me, it seems,
in my lonely love
I keep thinking of her still,
and how wretched it has been
Meaning: How wretched it is to go on thinking of one who must be indifferent to me, with a love that is all one-sided.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 717

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Seven poems sent by Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi to a maiden"
He laments how painful it is to love, one-sidedly, someone who must be cold to him.
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, "One who must be cold," means indifferently, coldly.
Second line, "unconcerned with me, it seems," uses the present conjectural ramu: one who must be so.
Third line, "in my lonely love," names katamoi, one-sided love.
Fourth line, "I keep thinking of her still," means since I think of her.
Fifth line, "and how wretched it has been," means how miserable it is, with the exclamatory ka.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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