Ime no wada koto ni shi arikeri utsutsu ni mo mitekeru mono o omoishi omoeba

夢のわだ言にしありけりうつつにも
見て来るものを思ひし思へば

Roma-ji: Ime no wada koto ni shi arikeri utsutsu ni mo mitekeru mono o omoishi omoeba
English Translation: The Pool of Dreams—
only a name, I find,
for in waking life
I have come and seen it now,
so long I longed and longed
Meaning: "The Pool of Dreams" was only a name—for I have come and seen it in waking life, having longed and longed to see it.
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1132

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed at Yoshino"
Because the poet has longed for so long to see the place called the Pool of Dreams, he has now seen it in waking life, and so he says that "dream" was merely a name. Turning the place name against itself, the poem expresses the joy of seeing it not in a dream but in reality.
It is one of the poems composed at Yoshino. The Pool of Dreams is thought to be a deep pool on the Yoshino River near Miyataki, a famous spot also sung by Ōtomo no Tabito. The poet is unknown.

The first line names a pool on the Yoshino River. "Wada" means a curved inlet of a river or sea.
The second line, "only a name, I find," uses "keri" for sudden realization, and the poem pauses here. The same phrase appears in poems 1149, 1197 and 1213 in this book.
The third line, "for in waking life," contrasts reality with the "dream" of the first line.
The fourth line, "I have come and seen it now," gives the reason: "since I have seen it."
The final line, "so long I longed and longed," uses the emphatic "shi" and repeats the verb to show the depth of longing.
Source: Manyoshu
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