Tōku araba wabite mo aramu o sato chikaku ari to kikitsutsu minu ga subenasa

遠くあらばわびてもあらむを里近く
ありと聞きつつ見ぬがすべなさ

Roma-ji: Tōku araba wabite mo aramu o sato chikaku ari to kikitsutsu minu ga subenasa
English Translation: If you were far off,
I could bear it, though forlorn;
but knowing you dwell
in a village close at hand,
not to see you, that is hard
Meaning: If you were far away, I could bear it, though sadly; but to hear you are in a village close by and still not see you is more than I can stand.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 757

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Four poems sent by the Elder Daughter of the Ōtomo household at Tamura to her younger sister"
If her sister were far away she could resign herself, but knowing she is in a nearby village and yet not seeing her is unbearable. In contrast to Lady Kasa's poem 610, "while you were near me, I could live though we did not meet," it says that nearness is what makes not meeting so painful.
According to the left note, both were daughters of Ōtomo no Sukunamaro; the elder was called Tamura no Ōiratsume because her father lived in the village of Tamura, and the younger Sakanoue no Ōiratsume because her mother, Lady Sakanoue, lived in Sakanoue. At this time the sisters exchanged poems to ask after each other.
The author, Ōtomo no Tamura no Ōiratsume, was a daughter of Ōtomo no Sukunamaro and the elder half-sister of the Elder Daughter of Sakanoue.

First line, "If you were far off," runs to six syllables.
Second line, "I could bear it, though forlorn," runs to eight syllables: I could live on, though disheartened.
Third line, "but knowing you dwell," means in a nearby village.
Fourth line, "in a village close at hand," means while hearing you are there.
Fifth line, "not to see you, that is hard," ends on a noun: the helplessness of not seeing you.
Author: Ōtomo no Tamura no Ōiratsume
Source: Manyoshu
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