Ashigamo no sudaku ikemizu hafuru tomo makemizo no he ni ware koeme ya mo

葦鴨のすだく池水溢るとも
まけ溝の辺に我れ越えめやも

Roma-ji: Ashigamo no sudaku ikemizu hafuru tomo makemizo no he ni ware koeme ya mo
English Translation: Where the reed ducks swarm,
though the water of the pond
should overflow its banks,
toward the ditch made ready there,
would I ever cross? Never
Meaning: Though the water of the pond where the reed ducks swarm should overflow, would I ever spill over toward the ditch made ready for it? Never.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2833

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Metaphorical Poems"
Even if the water of the pond where reed ducks swarm should overflow, the speaker would never spill over toward the ditch dug for that purpose. The pond's water stands for the speaker's love and the overflow ditch for another partner, and the poem vows that however the feeling may brim over, the heart will never turn elsewhere.
By the left note "the one poem above expresses feelings through water," this poem uses water as its figure. Following the river fish of the preceding poem, it turns to the waterside material of a pond.
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, "ashigamo no": "of the reed ducks," ducks living by water where reeds grow. The line paints a lively scene on the pond.
Second line, "sudaku ikemizu": "the pond water where they swarm." "Sudaku" means birds and the like gathering in crowds, and the line shows a pond brimming with water.
Third line, "hafuru tomo": "even if it overflows." "Tomo" states a concessive supposition, suggesting a love so full that it brims over.
Fourth line, "makemizo no he ni": "toward the ditch made ready." "Make" is thought to derive from "maku," to prepare in advance, and the ditch stands for an outlet by which the heart might flow to another.
Fifth line, "ware koeme ya mo": "would I cross over? Never." "Me" is the perfective form of the conjectural "mu," and "ya mo" is rhetorical, strongly denying that the heart will ever move.
Source: Manyoshu
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