Imo ga atari ima zo waga yuku me nomi dani ware ni mie koso koto towazu tomo

妹があたり今ぞ我が行く目のみだに
我れに見えこそ言問はずとも

Roma-ji: Imo ga atari ima zo waga yuku me nomi dani ware ni mie koso koto towazu tomo
English Translation: Near where my love dwells
now at last I pass along—
at least your face,
let me see it, if nothing more,
though we speak no word at all
Meaning: Now I am passing near where my beloved lives—let me see you, if only with my eyes, even if we cannot speak a word.
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1211

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed on Journeys"
Passing near his wife's home, the poet begs that she let him see her, if only her face, even if they cannot exchange a word. The ache of passing close to her house on a journey and the wish to see her even once come through clearly.
Placed after the poems on the Imose mountains, it may also be read as laying the image of the wife upon the name of Mount Imo and singing of passing "near" her. It is regarded as coming from the Old Collection. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "Near where my love dwells," is the same as the first line of poem 1085 in this book.
The second line, "now at last I pass along," is a kakari-musubi construction in which "zo" is answered by the attributive "yuku," and the poem pauses here.
In the third line, "dani" expresses a minimal wish: "at least your face."
In the fourth line, "koso" is a particle of wishing: "may I see you." The poem pauses again here.
The final line, "though we speak no word at all," is a concessive hypothetical added by inversion.
Source: Manyoshu
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