Koyoi no ariake tsukuyo aritsutsu mo kimi o okite wa matsu hito mo nashi

今夜の有明月夜ありつつも
君をおきては待つ人もなし

Roma-ji: Koyoi no ariake tsukuyo aritsutsu mo kimi o okite wa matsu hito mo nashi
English Translation: Like tonight's moon
that lingers until the dawn
so shall I go on,
and apart from you, my love,
there is no one I await
Meaning: Like tonight's moon that lingers into the dawn, so shall I remain; apart from you there is no one I wait for.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2671

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Feelings through Things"
Just as tonight's moon stays in the sky until dawn, so the speaker, a woman, will go on as she is, waiting for no one but him. The moon lingering at daybreak mirrors a heart that waits for one person alone.
This is one of the poems on the moon. It uses a preface typical of the Man'yoshu, passing from "ariake tsukuyo" (the moon at dawn) to "aritsutsu mo" (going on as I am) by repeating the same sound.
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, "koyoi no": "tonight's," a line of only four syllables. It shows that this is the very moon she is looking at now.
Second line, "ariake tsukuyo": the moon still in the sky at dawn. With the first line it forms a preface, and the repeated sound "ari" leads into "aritsutsu mo."
Third line, "aritsutsu mo": "continuing just as I am." It joins the verb "ari" to the continuative "tsutsu" and emphatic "mo," echoing "ariake" in the line before.
Fourth line, "kimi o okite wa": "leaving you aside." The particle "wa" sets off anyone other than him in order to deny them.
Fifth line, "matsu hito mo nashi": "there is no one I await." Ending firmly on the adjective "nashi," it declares her single-minded devotion.
Source: Manyoshu
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