Imo ni koi inenu asake ni fuku kaze wa imo ni shi fureba ware sae ni fure

妹に恋ひ寐ねぬ朝明に吹く風は
妹にし触れば我れさへに触れ

Roma-ji: Imo ni koi inenu asake ni fuku kaze wa imo ni shi fureba ware sae ni fure
English Translation: Longing for my love
I lay sleepless till the dawn;
you wind that blows,
if you have touched my darling,
come and touch me too
Meaning: O wind blowing at dawn after a sleepless night of longing, if you have brushed against my beloved, then brush against me too.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts through Things 2858

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts through Things"
The poet calls out to the wind blowing at a sleepless dawn, asking it to touch him if it has touched his beloved. His aching wish to be in contact with her even through the wind is expressed in a simple personification.
Kakinomoto no Hitomaro was a court poet who served under Empress Jitō and Emperor Monmu. The left note shows that this poem was taken from the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection, though scholars differ on whether it is Hitomaro's own work or a song he recorded.

Line one, "imo ni koi," means "longing for my beloved."
Line two, "inenu asake ni," means "at a dawn reached without sleep."
Line three, "fuku kaze wa," names the one addressed, personifying the wind.
Line four, "imo ni shi fureba": "shi" is an emphatic particle, "if you have touched her."
Line five, "ware sae ni fure," is an imperative, "touch even me," wishing to share contact with the beloved through the wind.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Suga no ne no nemokorogoro ni teru hi ni mo hime ya waga sode imo ni awazu shite
Next Poem: Asukagawa takagawa yokashi koekoshi o makoto koyoi wa akezu mo yukanu ka