Okumaete ware o omoeru waga seko wa chitose iotose arikosenu kamo

奥まへて我れを思へる我が背子は
千年五百年ありこせぬかも

Roma-ji: Okumaete ware o omoeru waga seko wa chitose iotose arikosenu kamo
English Translation: Deep within his heart
he holds me in his thoughts, and he,
my dear companion,
for a thousand, five hundred years,
would that he might live on
Meaning: You who hold me deep within your heart, my dear friend, would that you might live on for a thousand years, and five hundred more.
Commentary: Book Six Miscellaneous Poems 1025

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Four poems from a banquet at the house of the Minister of the Right, Tachibana, on the twentieth day of the eighth month, in autumn"
This is the host's reply to the blessing in the preceding poem, wishing that his friend who holds him deep in his heart may live on for a thousand years and five hundred more. Where Kose no Tsushima wished in the preceding poem that his lord might "live a thousand years," the host returns those very words to him, expressing affection and gratitude toward his guest.
According to the headnote, these are four poems from a banquet held at the house of the Minister of the Right, Tachibana no Moroe, on the twentieth day of the eighth month in autumn. The headnote gives no year, but the arrangement suggests the banquet took place in Tenpyō 10 (738). Moroe had become Minister of the Right in the first month of that year, and officials gathered for a banquet at his residence.
The left note reads "The above poem is the reply of the Minister of the Right," showing that it was composed in response by the host, the Minister of the Right Tachibana no Moroe.
The poet, Tachibana no Moroe, was the son of Prince Minu and Agata no Inukai no Michiyo, and was originally called Prince Katsuragi. In Tenpyō 8 (736) he left the imperial family and took up his mother's surname Tachibana. He became Minister of the Right in Tenpyō 10 (738) and later Minister of the Left, leading the government at the court of Emperor Shōmu.

Taking up "deep within my heart" and "a thousand years" from the preceding poem, 1024, the honored host returns the wish for long life to his guest in the same words. The governor of Nagato's devotion is answered by the Minister of the Right's affection, forming a pair of exchanged poems between host and guest.
The first line, "Deep within his heart," sets the third line of the preceding poem at the head of this one, marking it as a reply.
The second line, "he holds me in his thoughts, and he," ends in "-ru," the attributive form of the continuative auxiliary "ri." It restates the preceding poem's "I hold you" from the side of the one who is held in thought.
The third line, "my dear companion," renders "wa ga seko," a word for a close male friend, here the guest Kose no Tsushima. Answering the preceding poem's "my lord" with "seko," the host replies with warm familiarity.
The fourth line, "for a thousand, five hundred years," adds still more years to the preceding poem's "thousand years," enlarging the wish for long life.
The final line, "would that he might live on," uses "-kose," a form of the auxiliary "kosu" expressing a wish directed at another, followed by "-nu kamo," a negative with the exclamatory "kamo" that conveys longing. The poem closes with a blessing upon the guest.
Author: Tachibana no Moroe
Source: Manyoshu
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