Akizukeba obana ga ue ni oku tsuyu no kenubeku mo wa wa omooyuru kamo

秋づけば尾花が上に置く露の
消ぬべくも我は思ほゆるかも

Roma-ji: Akizukeba obana ga ue ni oku tsuyu no kenubeku mo wa wa omooyuru kamo
English Translation: When autumn comes on,
on the pampas plumes the dew
that settles lightly,
as if I would vanish too,
so deeply do I long for you
Meaning: Like the dew that settles on the pampas plumes as autumn comes on, I long for you so much that I feel I might vanish away.
Commentary: Book Eight Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 1564

Headnote: "A poem by Heki no Nagae no Otome"
As the dew that settles on the pampas plumes when autumn comes on vanishes so easily, the poet says she longs for her beloved so much that she too might vanish. The fragility of dew is laid over the pain of a love that makes body and soul seem ready to fade. The next poem is Ōtomo no Yakamochi's reply.
The author, Heki no Nagae no Otome, was a woman who exchanged poems with Ōtomo no Yakamochi; little else is known of her.

The first line means "as it turns autumnal."
The second line means "upon the pampas plumes."
With the third line, the first three lines become a preface leading to "vanish," likening love to the fleeting disappearance of dew.
The fourth line, with an extra syllable, means "so much that I might vanish." Prince Yuge's 1608 in this book likewise likens the pain of love to the "vanishing" of white dew on bush clover, sharing the conceit of entrusting love to the fragility of dew.
The final line, with the spontaneous "yu" and exclamatory "kamo," expresses a love she cannot help: so it seems to her unbidden.
Author: Heki no Nagae no Otome
Source: Manyoshu
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