Asashimo no keyasuki inochi ta ga tame ni chitose mo ga mo to waga omowanaku ni

朝霜の消やすき命誰がために
千年もがもと我が思はなくに

Roma-ji: Asashimo no keyasuki inochi ta ga tame ni chitose mo ga mo to waga omowanaku ni
English Translation: Like the morning frost,
so quickly it melts away,
this life—for whose sake
would I wish a thousand years,
if not for you alone?
Meaning: This life melts away as easily as morning frost—for whose sake would I wish it to last a thousand years? For no one but you.
Commentary: Book Seven Allegorical Poems 1375

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On the Moon"
The poet says that this life, as fleeting as morning frost, is not something he would wish to last a thousand years for anyone else. It expresses the single-minded feeling that the wish for long life is for the beloved alone.
It is placed last among the poems under the heading "On the Moon." The left note says, "The poem above is not of the allegorical kind. However, the poet of the dark-night poem, moved by his feelings, composed this poem along with it, and so it is placed next to it." Thus, though it is not an allegorical poem, it was included here because the poet of the preceding dark-night poem composed it together with that poem. The poet is unknown.

The first line uses "asashimo no," morning frost, as a pillow word for "ke" (to vanish), since frost melts easily.
The second line, "so quickly it melts away, this life," describes the fragility of life.
The third line, "for whose sake," raises the question.
In the fourth line, "would I wish a thousand years," "moga mo" expresses a wish.
The final line, "if not for you alone," uses "naku ni," a negative with an exclamatory tone.
Source: Manyoshu
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