Toshi no koi koyoi tsukushite asu yori wa tsune no gotoku ya aga koiioramu

年の恋今夜尽して明日よりは
常のごとくや我が恋ひ居らむ

Roma-ji: Toshi no koi koyoi tsukushite asu yori wa tsune no gotoku ya aga koiioramu
English Translation: A whole year's longing
spent entirely tonight,
from tomorrow on,
just as always, as before,
must I sit again and yearn?
Meaning: Having spent a whole year's longing tonight, must I from tomorrow go back to longing just as always?
Commentary: Book Ten Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 2037

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Tanabata"
This poem laments that even if a year's longing is spent in tonight's meeting, from tomorrow the speaker will go on longing as always. In the very midst of the meeting's joy, it shows the ache of thinking of the days of separation that begin tomorrow. The contrast of tonight and tomorrow onward, of one night and a year, vividly shows the nature of the stars' love.

The first line, "a year's longing," names what is to be spent.
The second line, "spending it all tonight," describes the meeting.
The third line, "from tomorrow on," sets the time.
In the fourth line, "tsune no gotoku ya," "ya" is an interrogative particle in kakari-musubi with "mu" in the last line: as always.
The last line, "aga koiioramu," shall I go on longing?, closes with a lament for the days from tomorrow.
Source: Manyoshu
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