Sasanami no shigatsu no ama wa are nashi ni kazuki wa na se so nami tatazu tomo

楽浪の志賀津の海人は我れなしに
潜きはなせそ波立たずとも

Roma-ji: Sasanami no shigatsu no ama wa are nashi ni kazuki wa na se so nami tatazu tomo
English Translation: At Sasanami
you fishers of Shigatsu,
while I am not there
do not dive into the sea,
even though no waves are rising
Meaning: You fishermen of Shigatsu in Sasanami—do not dive while I am away, even if the waves are calm.
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1253

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Question and Answer"
The poet asks the fishermen of Shigatsu not to dive while he is away, even if the waves are calm. It is read as an allegorical poem that, through the fishermen, expresses the wish that his beloved not give herself to another man while he is gone.
It is a poem in a question-and-answer exchange whose reply is the next poem; the left note says, "The two poems above are on fishermen." Shigatsu was a harbor on the west shore of Lake Biwa in Ōmi. It comes from the Old Poetry Collection. The poet is unknown.

The first line names Sasanami, an old name for the southwest shore of Lake Biwa.
The second line refers to the fishermen of Shigatsu in Ōmi.
The third line, "while I am not there," means in his absence.
The fourth line, "do not dive into the sea," is a prohibition with "na ... so," and the poem pauses here.
The final line, "even though no waves are rising," is the same as the last line of the next poem.
Source: Manyoshu
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