Utsutsu ni wa au yoshi mo nashi nubatama no yoru no ime ni o tsugite miekoso

うつつには逢ふよしもなしぬばたまの
夜の夢にを継ぎて見えこそ

Roma-ji: Utsutsu ni wa au yoshi mo nashi nubatama no yoru no ime ni o tsugite miekoso
English Translation: In waking life
there is no way we can meet;
in the jet-black night,
in my dreams at least, I pray,
appear to me again and again
Meaning: In waking life there is no way for us to meet; at least in my dreams at night, please keep appearing to me.
Commentary: Book Five Miscellaneous Poems 807

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Two poems, by Lord Ōtomo, Governor-General of Dazaifu"
Since there is no way to meet in waking life, the poet asks at least to be visited continually in dreams at night. Turning from the fancy of a dragon horse in the preceding poem, he voices the earnest feeling that only in dreams can he meet someone so far away.
The headnote opens with a letter in Chinese. It says that he has humbly received the letter sent to him and fully understood its meaning; that at once he feels a longing like that of lovers parted by the River of Heaven, and grieves like the man who clung to the bridge pillar waiting; and that he can only wish that both the one who left and the one who stayed remain well, and wait for the day the clouds part. The two poems were attached to this reply to a letter from an acquaintance in the capital.
The poet, Ōtomo no Tabito, was the son of the Major Counselor Ōtomo no Yasumaro and the father of Ōtomo no Yakamochi. Late in the Jinki era he went down to Tsukushi as Governor-General of Dazaifu, returned to the capital in Tenpyō 2 as Major Counselor, and died the following year. Versed in Chinese letters and Daoist thought, he formed a literary circle at Dazaifu with Yamanoue no Okura and others, known as the Tsukushi poetic circle.

First line, "utsutsu ni wa": "in reality," set against dreams.
Second line, "au yoshi mo nashi": no means of meeting; the poem breaks after this line.
Third line, "nubatama no": a pillow word for night.
Fourth line, "yoru no ime ni o": "ime" is an old word for dream, and "o" adds emphasis.
Fifth line, "tsugite miekoso": "tsugite" means without cease and "koso" expresses a wish: at least in dreams, let us meet again and again. The answering poem, 809, replies "I will appear in your dreams."
Author: Ōtomo no Tabito
Source: Manyoshu
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