Iitsutsu mo nochi koso shirame tonoshiku mo sabushikeme ya mo kimi imasazu shite

言ひつつも後こそ知らめとのしくも
寂しけめやも君いまさずして

Roma-ji: Iitsutsu mo nochi koso shirame tonoshiku mo sabushikeme ya mo kimi imasazu shite
English Translation: Though we say these words,
only later shall we know;
just a little bit —
is that how lonely we shall be
when you are no longer here?
Meaning: Whatever we say now, we will only understand later. Could it be just a little lonely once you are gone?
Commentary: Book Five Miscellaneous Poems 878

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Four Japanese poems on the day of a farewell banquet in the library hall"
The poet says that whatever they say now, only afterward will they know the true loneliness; it will be no small loneliness once Tabito is gone. He mourns in advance a loss not yet fully felt at the farewell banquet itself.
The headnote reads "Four Japanese poems on the day of a farewell banquet in the library hall." They were composed at a send-off held in the library hall of Dazaifu in the winter of Tenpyō 2 for Ōtomo no Tabito, who had been appointed Major Counselor and was returning to the capital; "Japanese poems" distinguishes them from Chinese verse. No author is named, but like the three poems that follow they are generally attributed to Yamanoue no Okura.
The poet, Yamanoue no Okura, was an official who went to Tang China as a junior secretary with the embassy appointed in Taihō 1. After his return he served as Governor of Hōki and in the household of the Crown Prince, and late in the Jinki era he was posted to Tsukushi as Governor of Chikuzen. He is known for poems rooted in everyday life, on the sufferings of human existence, love for family, and poverty, written against a background of learning in Chinese classics and Buddhist scripture.

First line, "iitsutsu mo": "though we say so," the words of parting exchanged at the banquet.
Second line, "nochi koso shirame": "koso" is resolved by "me": only later shall we know. The poem breaks here.
Third line, "tonoshiku mo": its meaning is debated, but it is taken to mean "a little, slightly."
Fourth line, "sabushikeme ya mo": "me ya mo" is rhetorical: could it be only a little lonely? No, it will be deeply lonely.
Fifth line, "kimi imasazu shite": "imasu" is honorific for "to be": "with you no longer here," the inversion giving the reason for loneliness last.
Author: Yamanoue no Okura (attributed)
Source: Manyoshu
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