Wagimoko ni mata mo awamu to chihayaburu kami no yashiro o nomanu hi wa nashi

我妹子にまたも逢はむとちはやぶる
神の社を祷まぬ日はなし

Roma-ji: Wagimoko ni mata mo awamu to chihayaburu kami no yashiro o nomanu hi wa nashi
English Translation: That once more I might
meet the dear girl that I love,
there is not a day
I fail to pray at the shrine
of the mighty gods above
Meaning: There is not a day I fail to pray at the shrine of the mighty gods that I may meet my dear beloved once again.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2662

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Feelings through Things"
The speaker, a man, prays at the shrine every day that he may meet his beloved once more. Through prayer to the gods, this poem conveys his earnest longing for a lover far away.
This poem shares its third line, "chihayaburu," and its second half, "kami no yashiro o nomanu hi wa nashi," with poem 2660 in this book. While poem 2660 is a woman's prayer for her lover's visit, this is a man's prayer to meet "wagimoko" again, voicing the same words of prayer from the man's side.
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, "wagimoko ni": "my dear wife." "Wagimoko" is a man's tender name for his wife or lover, marking this as a man's poem.
Second line, "mata mo awamu to": "that I may meet again." "Mu" expresses intention, giving the content of the prayer.
Third line, "chihayaburu": a pillow word attached to "gods," placed in the third line just as in poem 2660 of this book.
Fourth line, "kami no yashiro o": "at the shrine of the gods," naming the place of prayer.
Fifth line, "nomanu hi wa nashi": "there is no day I do not pray." "Nomu" means to pray to the gods, and the double negative stresses prayer offered every day without fail.
Source: Manyoshu
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