Asatsuyu no keyasuki agami oinu tomo mata ochikaeri kimi o shi matamu

朝露の消やすき我が身老いぬとも
またをちかへり君をし待たむ

Roma-ji: Asatsuyu no keyasuki agami oinu tomo mata ochikaeri kimi o shi matamu
English Translation: Like the morning dew
this body of mine fades fast,
yet though I grow old,
I will become young again
and wait on for you, my love
Meaning: Though this body of mine, as quick to vanish as the morning dew, should grow old, I will grow young again and go on waiting for you.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2689

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Feelings through Things"
Even if this body, fragile as the morning dew, grows old, I will grow young again and keep waiting for you: so a woman vows. Lamenting the brevity of life yet resolving to wait even if she must be made young again, she reveals her devoted heart toward her lover.
In this sequence on dew, the preceding poem spoke of waiting until dew settles on the sleeves, while this one stretches the time of waiting from a single night to a whole lifetime. The theme of waiting is the same, but the scale is greatly changed. Poem 2691, two poems on, also speaks of "this body like morning dew," sharing the image of a fragile self likened to dew.
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, "asatsuyu no": "like the morning dew," a quasi-pillow-word image that leads into "vanish," since dew so easily disappears.
Second line, "keyasuki agami": "this body of mine, quick to vanish." The frailty of life is laid over the morning dew, expressing how insubstantial she feels herself to be.
Third line, "oinu tomo": "even if I grow old." "Nu" is perfective and "tomo" concessive.
Fourth line, "mata ochikaeri": "becoming young again." Ochikaeru is a verb meaning to return to a former state or to grow young again, showing a will to wait beyond old age itself.
Fifth line, "kimi o shi matamu": "I will wait for you." "Shi" is emphatic and "mu" volitional, stating outright her resolve to keep waiting.
Source: Manyoshu
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