Se no yama ni tada ni mukaeru imo no yama koto yuruse ya mo uchihashi watasu

背の山に直に向へる妹の山
事許せやも打橋渡す

Roma-ji: Se no yama ni tada ni mukaeru imo no yama koto yuruse ya mo uchihashi watasu
English Translation: Facing Se Mountain,
directly across from him,
Imo Mountain stands—
has she yielded to his suit?
a plank bridge spans between them
Meaning: Facing Mount Se directly across the river stands Mount Imo—has she granted his wish? For a plank bridge is laid between them.
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1193

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed on Journeys"
Treating Mount Se and Mount Imo, which face each other across the Ki River, as husband and wife, the poet wonders whether Mount Imo has granted Mount Se's suit, since a plank bridge now spans the gap between them. It is a witty, charming poem that turns features of the landscape into lovers.
It is one of the poems composed on journeys, singing of the Imose mountains in Kii. This is the mountain sung in poem 1098 in this book, "They say there is Mount Imo on the road to Kii," and the Imose mountains appear again in poems 1208 to 1210. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "Facing Se Mountain," refers to Mount Se on the north bank of the Ki River.
The second line, "directly across from him," means squarely facing it.
The third line names Mount Imo on the south bank, pictured as the wife of Mount Se; the poem pauses here.
The fourth line, "has she yielded to his suit?" adds "ya mo" to the perfective form, forming a question about the cause.
In the final line, "uchihashi" is a simple bridge of laid planks, pictured as the bond joining the two.
Source: Manyoshu
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