Koto ni ieba mimi ni tayasushi sukunaku mo kokoro no uchi ni waga mowanaku ni

言に言へば耳にたやすし少なくも
心のうちに我が思はなくに

Roma-ji: Koto ni ieba mimi ni tayasushi sukunaku mo kokoro no uchi ni waga mowanaku ni
English Translation: Put into words, it
falls so lightly on the ear;
yet not lightly, no,
within the depths of my heart
is this love I hold for you
Meaning: Put into words, it sounds easy to the ear; yet it is no slight love that I hold within my heart.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2581

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing One's Feelings Directly"
Once put into words, one's feelings sound easy to the listening ear, yet the love within the heart is by no means slight. The poem speaks of a depth of feeling that words cannot convey and the frustration that it may be taken lightly.
It belongs to the category "Expressing One's Feelings Directly." Its theme is the gap between words and the heart, and it is distinctive in taking as its subject the very difficulty of expressing love.
The author is unknown. The anonymous poems of Book Eleven gather the love poems of people whose names have not come down to us.

First line, "koto ni ieba": "when it is put into words." "Ieba" is the realis form with "ba," a definite condition describing what always happens when one speaks.
Second line, "mimi ni tayasushi": "it is easy on the ear." It means that words make love sound light, and the poem pauses after the second line.
Third line, "sukunaku mo": "in no small measure." Working with the negative at the end, it strengthens the sense that the love is by no means small.
Fourth line, "kokoro no uchi ni": "within my heart." It points to the feelings kept inside before they are spoken.
Fifth line, "waga mowanaku ni": "though it is not that I think so little." "Naku ni" is the nominalized form of the negative auxiliary "zu" followed by "ni," closing with a note of deep feeling.
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Omokata no wasuru to araba azukinaku otokojimono ya koitsutsu oramu
Next Poem: Azukinaku nani no tawakoto imasara ni warawagoto suru oibito ni shite