Masokagami te ni torimochite asana sana mimu toki sae ya koi no shigekemu

まそ鏡手に取り持ちて朝な朝な
見む時さへや恋の繁けむ

Roma-ji: Masokagami te ni torimochite asana sana mimu toki sae ya koi no shigekemu
English Translation: As a clear mirror
taken in hand and held up
morning after morning,
even when I see you so,
will my longing still grow thick
Meaning: As one takes a clear mirror in hand and looks into it morning after morning, even when I can see you so, will my longing still grow so thick?
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2633

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Feelings through Things"
As one takes a mirror in hand and looks into it every morning, even when the speaker is able to see the beloved always, will longing still grow? The poem reflects on a love that only deepens. It speaks not only of the pain of being apart now but also of a longing that would remain even when living together, a love without end.
Like the preceding poem, it begins with "masokagami" and speaks through a mirror. Where the preceding poem laments that longing will not cease without meeting face to face, this poem extends its thought to a time when they can see each other every morning, setting the time of separation and the time of meeting side by side.
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, "masokagami": "a clear mirror." The first and second lines form a preface, the daily looking into a mirror leading to "mimu" (shall see).
Second line, "te ni torimochite": "taking it in hand and holding it," concretely depicting the gesture of holding a mirror and completing the preface.
Third line, "asana sana": "morning after morning," overlaying the daily habit of looking in the mirror with days of seeing the beloved.
Fourth line, "mimu toki sae ya": "even when I come to see you." The particle "sae" means "even," and the particle "ya" marks a question.
Fifth line, "koi no shigekemu": "will longing grow thick?" "Shigekemu" joins the archaic form "shigeke" of the adjective "shigeshi" with the conjectural auxiliary "mu," ending in the attributive form in a kakari-musubi construction answering "ya."
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Masokagami tadani shi imo o aimizu wa aga koi yamaji toshi wa henu tomo
Next Poem: Sato tōmi koiwabi ni keri masokagami omokage sarazu ime ni mie koso