Tama naraba te ni mo makamu o utsusemi no yo no hito nareba te ni makikatashi

玉ならば手にも巻かむをうつせみの
世の人なれば手に巻きかたし

Roma-ji: Tama naraba te ni mo makamu o utsusemi no yo no hito nareba te ni makikatashi
English Translation: Were you but a jewel,
I would wind you round my wrist;
since in this frail world
you're a person, like the rest,
round my wrist I cannot wind you
Meaning: If you were a jewel I would wear you wound around my wrist, but since you are a person of this world, I cannot bind you to my hand.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 729

Headnote: "Three poems sent by Ōtomo no Sakanoue no Ōiratsume to Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi"
This is the first of three poems the Elder Daughter of Sakanoue sent to Yakamochi. If he were a jewel she could wear him always wound round her wrist, but since he is a living person she cannot. Her wish to be always near him is expressed through the figure of a jewel.
The author, Ōtomo no Sakanoue no Ōiratsume, was the daughter of Ōtomo no Sukunamaro and Lady Sakanoue, and later became Ōtomo no Yakamochi's principal wife.

First line, "Were you but a jewel," means if you were a jewel.
Second line, "I would wind you round my wrist," uses the concessive o: I would wear you on my arm, but.
Third line, "since in this frail world," is utsusemi no, a pillow word for "world."
Fourth line, "you're a person, like the rest," means since you are a person of this world.
Fifth line, "round my wrist I cannot wind you," means it is hard to bind you to my hand.
Author: Ōtomo no Sakanoue no Ōiratsume
Source: Manyoshu
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