Sanesomete ikuda mo araneba shirotae no obi koubeshi ya koi mo sugineba

さ寝そめていくだもあらねば白栲の
帯乞ふべしや恋も過ぎねば

Roma-ji: Sanesomete ikuda mo araneba shirotae no obi koubeshi ya koi mo sugineba
English Translation: We have scarcely lain
together, and so short a time—
the sash of white cloth,
should you ask to have it back,
while my longing is not spent?
Meaning: We have only just begun to lie together, and so little time has passed—should you ask for your white sash so soon, when our longing is not yet spent?
Commentary: Book Ten Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 2023

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Tanabata"
This poem is thought to be in the Weaver's voice, holding back a partner hurrying to part, asking whether he already seeks the sash for leaving when they have only just begun to lie together. It stands as if answering the Herdsman's words of setting out in the preceding poem, and the reluctance to part is packed into "koi mo sugineba." The two poems form a pair of the one who bids farewell and the one who holds him back.
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.

In the first line, "sanesomete," "sa" is a prefix and "nesomu" means to begin sleeping together.
In the second line, "ikuda mo araneba," "ikuda" means how much: since hardly any time has passed.
The third line, "of white cloth," modifies "sash."
In the fourth line, "obi koubeshi ya," "kou" means to ask for and "ya" is rhetorical: should you ask for the sash? The poem breaks here.
In the last line, "koi mo sugineba," "sugu" means for feelings to be spent and "ne" is the perfective of the negative, closing with the plea: since longing is not yet spent.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Aimiraku akidaranedomo inanome no akesarinikeri funade semu tsuma
Next Poem: Yorozuyo ni tazusawari ite aimi tomo omoisugubeki koi ni aranaku ni