Aga koi o tsuma wa shireru o yuku fune no sugite kubeshi ya koto mo tsuganamu

我が恋を嬬は知れるを行く舟の
過ぎて来べしや言も告げなむ

Roma-ji: Aga koi o tsuma wa shireru o yuku fune no sugite kubeshi ya koto mo tsuganamu
English Translation: This love that I feel—
my spouse knows it well, and yet
like a boat that sails,
should you pass me by like that?
Send at least a word to me.
Meaning: My spouse knows of my love—so should you pass by like a boat that sails on? At least send me a word.
Commentary: Book Ten Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 1998

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Tanabata"
This poem, thought to be from the Weaver's position, pleads whether the Herdsman, who knows her feelings, should pass by without a word, like a boat sailing on. The kundoku uses "tsuma," spouse, for the other, and the earnest wish for at least a word is clear. Whereas 1996 sang of joy at the boat's arrival, this poem sings of anxiety that the boat may pass by.
Kakinomoto no Hitomaro was a court poet of the Asuka period, active under Empress Jitō and Emperor Monmu. The left note records that this poem comes from the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection, and it is uncertain whether it is Hitomaro's own work or a poem by someone else that he recorded.

The first line, "my love," names the speaker's feelings.
In the second line, "tsuma wa shireru o," "tsuma" means spouse and "o" is adversative.
The third line, "like a boat that goes," leads into "passing by."
In the fourth line, "sugite kubeshi ya," "beshi" is obligation and "ya" rhetorical: should you pass me by? The poem breaks here.
In the last line, "koto mo tsuganamu," "namu" expresses a wish toward another: at least send word.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Source: Manyoshu
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