Nagatsuki no ariake no tsukuyo aritsutsu mo kimi ga kimasaba are koime ya mo

九月の有明の月夜ありつつも
君が来まさば我れ恋ひめやも

Roma-ji: Nagatsuki no ariake no tsukuyo aritsutsu mo kimi ga kimasaba are koime ya mo
English Translation: In the ninth month's time
as the moon lingers at dawn,
if like it, always
you would come to me, my love,
would I pine for you like this?
Meaning: Like the moon of a Ninth Month dawn that lingers on, if only you would always come to me, would I long for you like this?
Commentary: Book Ten Autumn Love Poems 2300

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Love Expressed Through the Moon"
This poem says that if the beloved would keep coming as the Ninth Month dawn moon lingers until daybreak, the speaker would not long so. The "ari" of "ariake" leads into "aritsutsu," always, overlaying the moon's unchanging presence with the wish for the beloved's constant visits. Against the praise of the dawn moon in 2229 of the miscellaneous poems, the dawn moon here becomes a preface to a lover's wish.

The first line, "of the Ninth Month," names the time.
The second line, "the moonlit dawn," names a night with the moon lingering till daybreak.
The third line, "aritsutsu mo," always, unchanging, with the upper lines forming a preface leading into "ari" by sound.
In the fourth line, "kimi ga kimasaba," "masu" is honorific and "ba" marks a supposition.
In the last line, "are koime ya mo," "me ya mo" is rhetorical: would I long so? no.
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Aki no yo no tsuki ka mo kimi wa kumogakuri shimashiku mineba kokoda koishiki
Next Poem: Yoshieyashi koiji to suredo akikaze no samuku fuku yo wa kimi o shi zo omou