Wata no soko okitsu shiratama yoshi o nami tsune kaku nomi ya koiwatarinamu

海の底沖つ白玉よしをなみ
常かくのみや恋ひわたりなむ

Roma-ji: Wata no soko okitsu shiratama yoshi o nami tsune kaku nomi ya koiwatarinamu
English Translation: In the ocean's depths,
a white pearl far out at sea—
with no way to reach,
must I always, only so,
go on longing all my days?
Meaning: The white pearl far out in the depths of the sea—since there is no way to reach it, must I go on longing like this, always and only so?
Commentary: Book Seven Allegorical Poems 1323

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Jewels"
With no means of winning the white pearl far out at sea, the poet laments that he must go on longing forever. The pearl stands for a woman beyond reach, and the poem voices the grief of having no way to meet her and nothing to do but keep on loving.
It is the seventh poem on jewels. The first line, "In the ocean's depths," is the same as that of poem 1317 and appears again in the third line of poem 1327. The fourth line, "must I always, only so," resembles "is it ever only so" in the second line of poem 1321. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "In the ocean's depths," is a pillow word for "oki" (offshore), the same as the first line of poem 1317.
The second line, "a white pearl far out at sea," stands for a woman out of reach.
In the third line, "with no way to reach," "mi" gives the cause.
In the fourth line, "must I always, only so," the particle "ya" is answered by the attributive "namu" in the final line; it resembles the second line of poem 1321.
The final line, "go on longing all my days?" closes the "ya ... namu" construction as a question.
Source: Manyoshu
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