Ime no goto omōyuru kamo hashikiyashi kimi ga tsukai no maneku kayoeba

夢のごと思ほゆるかもはしきやし
君が使の数多く通へば

Roma-ji: Ime no goto omōyuru kamo hashikiyashi kimi ga tsukai no maneku kayoeba
English Translation: As if in a dream,
so it seems to me, I find;
dearest, dearest one,
since your messengers to me
come so often to my door
Meaning: It all seems like a dream to me, my dear, now that your messengers come to me so often.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 787

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Three poems sent in reply by Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi to Fujiwara no Asomi Kusumaro"
Now that Kusumaro's messengers come so often, it seems to him like a dream. He expresses in gentle words his pleasure at the suitor's zeal.
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, "As if in a dream," means like a dream.
Second line, "so it seems to me, I find," means so it appears, with the exclamatory kamo; the poem breaks after this line.
Third line, "dearest, dearest one," is hashikiyashi, an exclamation of affection.
Fourth line, "since your messengers to me," means your messengers.
Fifth line, "come so often to my door," gives the reason by inversion: because they come many times.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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