Akihagi no koi mo tsukineba saoshika no koe itsugi itsugi koi koso masare

秋萩の恋も尽きねばさを鹿の
声い継ぎい継ぎ恋こそまされ

Roma-ji: Akihagi no koi mo tsukineba saoshika no koe itsugi itsugi koi koso masare
English Translation: For autumn clover
since his love is never spent,
so the stag's calling
follows on and follows on,
and his longing grows the more.
Meaning: Because his love for the autumn bush clover is never spent, the stag's voice goes on and on, and his longing only grows stronger.
Commentary: Book Ten Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 2145

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On the Calling of Deer"
This poem sings of the stag crying one call after another because his love for the autumn bush clover is never spent, so that longing grows ever stronger. While depicting the love of the deer whose wife is the bush clover, it also suggests the growing love of the poet who hears that voice. The device of treating deer and bush clover as husband and wife, seen in 2094 and elsewhere, carries over into the group on the calling of deer.

The first line, "for the autumn bush clover," names the object of love.
In the second line, "koi mo tsukineba," "ne" is the perfective of the negative and "ba" an established condition: since love is not spent.
The third line, "of the stag," names the caller.
In the fourth line, "koe itsugi itsugi," "i" is a prefix: the voice continuing on and on. The repetition expresses unceasing cries.
In the last line, "koi koso masare," "koso" is an emphatic particle answered by the perfective "masare," stressing the mounting love.
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Kari wa kinu hagi wa chirinu to saoshika no naku naru koe mo urabure ni keri
Next Poem: Yama chikaku ie ya orubeki saoshika no koe o kikitsutsu inekatenu ka mo