Imashiku wa mime ya to omoishi miyoshino no ōkawayodo o kyō mitsuru kamo

今しくは見めやと思ひしみ吉野の
大川淀を今日見つるかも

Roma-ji: Imashiku wa mime ya to omoishi miyoshino no ōkawayodo o kyō mitsuru kamo
English Translation: Not soon, I thought,
would I ever get to see
fair Yoshino's
great river's quiet pools—
but today at last I've seen them
Meaning: I had thought I would not soon see the broad still pools of the great river at lovely Yoshino—yet today, at last, I have seen them.
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1103

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Rivers"
This poem expresses joy at unexpectedly seeing, today, the broad still pools of the Yoshino River, which the poet had thought he would not see for some time. Yoshino was a holy place where a detached palace stood, and the poem carries the thrill of encountering its scenery.
The last line, "today at last I've seen," is the same as in poems 1092 and 1105 in this book, a pattern repeated in these groups to express the excitement of seeing a famous place. Poems on the Yoshino River follow. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "Not soon, I thought," means "not for the time being."
In the second line, "would I ever get to see," "meya" is rhetorical: "could I see it? Surely not," was the poet's thought.
In the third line, "fair Yoshino's," "mi" is an honorific prefix praising Yoshino.
The fourth line, "great river's quiet pools," refers to places where the Yoshino River slows and grows wide and deep.
The final line, "but today at last I've seen them," is shared with poems 1092 and 1105.
Source: Manyoshu
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