Tamatsushima miteshi yokeku mo ware wa nashi miyako ni yukite koimaku omoeba

玉津島見てしよけくも我れはなし
都に行きて恋ひまく思へば

Roma-ji: Tamatsushima miteshi yokeku mo ware wa nashi miyako ni yukite koimaku omoeba
English Translation: Tamatsu Island—
the joy of having seen it
I have none at all,
when I think how I shall long
for it back in the capital
Meaning: I find no joy in having seen Tamatsu Island, when I think how I shall long for it once I am back in the capital.
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1217

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed on Journeys"
Though he has seen lovely Tamatsu Island, the poet says there is no joy in it when he thinks how he will long for it after returning to the capital. It is a paradoxical praise in which the delight of meeting a beautiful scene turns into pain at the thought of the longing to come.
Like poem 1215 in this book it sings of Tamatsu Island; where that poem worried about what to tell those waiting in Nara, this one thinks of the longing he will feel back in the capital. It is regarded as coming from the Old Collection. The poet is unknown.

The first line names Tamatsu Island, the same first line as poem 1215.
In the second line, "yokeku" is the nominalized form of "yoshi": "the good of having seen it."
The third line, "I have none at all," pauses the poem.
The fourth line, "when I think how I shall long," refers to the future after his return.
In the final line, "koimaku" is the nominalized form of "koimu": "that I will long for it." By inversion it gives the reason.
Source: Manyoshu
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