Aga kokoro yuta ni tayuta ni ukinunawa he ni mo oki ni mo yorikatsumashiji

我が心ゆたにたゆたに浮蓴
辺にも沖にも寄りかつましじ

Roma-ji: Aga kokoro yuta ni tayuta ni ukinunawa he ni mo oki ni mo yorikatsumashiji
English Translation: Ah, this heart of mine—
swaying back and forth it drifts
like a water shield,
to neither shore nor offing
can it ever come to rest
Meaning: My heart sways back and forth like water shield floating on the pond—it seems it can drift neither to the shore nor out to the open water.
Commentary: Book Seven Allegorical Poems 1352

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Grasses"
The speaker says her heart sways back and forth like water shield floating on the water, unable to drift toward either shore or offing. She likens her heart to the floating water shield, expressing a mind that sways, unable to decide whether to draw near to her lover or to pull away.
It is the last of the poems on grasses. Where most of the preceding poems liken the beloved to a grass, this one likens the speaker's own heart to the floating water shield. The repeated sounds of "yuta ni tayuta ni" capture the swaying of the heart well. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "Ah, this heart of mine," names the subject.
The second line, "swaying back and forth it drifts," repeats similar sounds to convey an unsettled heart.
The third line names floating water shield, lending a concrete image to the heart of the first two lines.
The fourth line, "to neither shore nor offing," names the two directions.
In the final line, "katsu" expresses possibility and "mashiji" negative conjecture: "it seems it cannot come to rest."
Source: Manyoshu
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