Utsusemi no yo ya mo futayuku nani su to ka imo ni awazute waga hitori nemu

うつせみの世やも二行く何すとか
妹に逢はずて我がひとり寝む

Roma-ji: Utsusemi no yo ya mo futayuku nani su to ka imo ni awazute waga hitori nemu
English Translation: In this fleeting world,
does our life come round again;
why then, tell me why,
should I, without meeting you,
lie alone to sleep at night
Meaning: Does this fleeting life come around twice? Why then should I sleep alone without meeting you?
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 733

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Three more poems by Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi in reply"
This life will not come round twice, he pleads, so why should he sleep alone without meeting her? He urges her to treasure the present and meet 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, "In this fleeting world," is utsusemi no, a pillow word for "world."
Second line, "does our life come round again," uses the rhetorical ya mo: does this world come round twice? No. The poem breaks after this line.
Third line, "why then, tell me why," is the same as the third line of the Elder Daughter's poem 730.
Fourth line, "should I, without meeting you," means not meeting you.
Fifth line, "lie alone to sleep at night," means should I sleep alone, ending in the attributive of mu.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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