Hitogoto o shigemi to kimi ni tamazusa no tsukai mo yarazu wasuru to omou na

人言を繁みと君に玉梓の
使も遣らず忘ると思ふな

Roma-ji: Hitogoto o shigemi to kimi ni tamazusa no tsukai mo yarazu wasuru to omou na
English Translation: Since the gossip runs
so thick, to you, my dear one,
not a messenger
with his catalpa staff I send;
do not think I have forgotten
Meaning: Because people's gossip is so thick, I do not even send a messenger to you; but do not think I have forgotten you.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2586

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing One's Feelings Directly"
Because the gossip is so thick, the speaker sends no messenger, yet has by no means forgotten the beloved: the poem is an explanation offered to a lover. It voices the pain of holding back letters out of fear of the world's eyes, and the wish to convey a love that has not changed.
It belongs to the category "Expressing One's Feelings Directly." The constraint of love that cannot meet freely or even send word because of gossip connects with poem 2576 of this book, which also suffers from rumor, and it is a recurring theme in the love poems of Book Eleven of the Man'yoshu.
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, "hitogoto o": "people's gossip." Gossip is set out at the start as what stands in the way of love.
Second line, "shigemi to kimi ni": "because it is thick, to you." "Shigemi" is the stem of the adjective "shigeshi" with "mi," expressing a reason.
Third line, "tamazusa no": a pillow word attached to "tsukai," messenger. It is said to derive from the catalpa staff that messengers carried.
Fourth line, "tsukai mo yarazu": "I do not even send a messenger." It says that not even a messenger bearing word has been dispatched.
Fifth line, "wasuru to omou na": "do not think I have forgotten." The final particle "na" expresses prohibition, carrying a strong plea to the beloved.
Source: Manyoshu
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