Hitogoto no shigeki ma morite au tomo ya nao waga ue ni koto no shigekemu

人言の繁き間守りて逢ふともや
なほ我が上に言の繁けむ

Roma-ji: Hitogoto no shigeki ma morite au tomo ya nao waga ue ni koto no shigekemu
English Translation: While the gossip's thick,
watching for a gap in it,
though we meet, will it,
still upon my own head fall,
the gossip growing thick
Meaning: Even if we meet by watching for a gap in the thick gossip, will the gossip still grow thick upon me?
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2561

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing One's Feelings Directly"
Because people's gossip is so thick, the speaker wonders whether, even if they meet by watching for a gap in it, rumors will still gather around her. Fear of gossip that cannot be escaped, however carefully they try to avoid people's eyes, clouds the joy of love.
The "hitogoto no shigeki" of the first line answers the "koto no shigekemu" of the last, placing the abundance of gossip at the beginning and end of the poem. The next poem, 2562, also sings of the village people's talk, and poem 2563 after it of a lover wary of people's eyes, so that love poems about the eyes and tongues of the world follow one after another.
The author is unknown. The anonymous poems of Book Eleven gather love poems by people whose names have not come down to us.

First line, "hitogoto no": "of people's talk." "Hitogoto" means the gossip of the world.
Second line, "shigeki ma morite": "watching for a gap in the thick gossip." "Moru" means to watch closely or wait for an opening.
Third line, "au tomo ya": "even if we meet." The particle "tomo" expresses a hypothetical concession, and "ya" poses a question.
Fourth line, "nao waga ue ni": "still upon me," showing that the gossip will be directed at the speaker.
Fifth line, "koto no shigekemu": "will the gossip grow thick?" Answering "ya" in the third line, it closes with the attributive form of the conjectural "mu," a kakari-musubi construction, and echoes "hitogoto no shigeki" in the first line.
Source: Manyoshu
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