Yoso ni ite koitsutsu arazu wa kimi ga ie no ike ni sumu to iu kamo ni aramashi o

外に居て恋ひつつあらずは君が家の
池に住むといふ鴨にあらましを

Roma-ji: Yoso ni ite koitsutsu arazu wa kimi ga ie no ike ni sumu to iu kamo ni aramashi o
English Translation: Staying far away,
rather than go on longing,
in my lord's own house,
in the pond where they say ducks dwell,
would that I had been a duck
Meaning: Rather than long for you from afar, I wish I had been one of the ducks that are said to live in the pond at your palace.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 726

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Two poems presented to the emperor"
Rather than long from afar, she wishes she had been a duck said to live in the pond of the emperor's palace. Taking up the pond water of the preceding poem, her thought moves to the ducks that live in it. Like poems 544 and 722 of this book, it follows the pattern "rather than go on longing, would that I had been."
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, "Staying far away," means being apart.
Second line, "rather than go on longing," runs to eight syllables, the same line as the second of poem 722.
Third line, "in my lord's own house," runs to six syllables: of my lord's residence.
Fourth line, "in the pond where they say ducks dwell," runs to eight syllables.
Fifth line, "would that I had been a duck," uses the counterfactual mashi: I wish I had been one.
Author: Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
Source: Manyoshu
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