Ide ika ni aga kokoda kouru wagimoko ga awaji to ieru koto mo aranaku ni

いで如何に我がここだ恋ふる我妹子が
逢はじと言へることもあらなくに

Roma-ji: Ide ika ni aga kokoda kouru wagimoko ga awaji to ieru koto mo aranaku ni
English Translation: Well now, why is it
that I long for her so much?
My darling girl
has never once said to me
that she will not meet me
Meaning: Well now, why do I long for her so much? My beloved has never told me she will not see me.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts Directly 2889

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts Directly"
The poet wonders why the longing is so intense when the beloved has never refused. The fierceness of a love for which no reason can be found is portrayed through self-questioning.
The poet is unknown. Book Twelve, titled the second part of "Love Poems Exchanged Old and New," gathers love poems by people whose names have not come down to us, arranged by category.

Line one, "ide ika ni": "ide" is an exclamation of self-questioning, "well now."
Line two, "aga kokoda kouru": "kokoda" means "so very much," and the line is hypermetric at eight syllables. The poem pauses here.
Line three, "wagimoko ga," means "my darling."
Line four, "awaji to ieru," means "said she would not meet me."
Line five, "koto mo aranaku ni," means "though there was no such thing," wondering at a longing that grows without any rejection.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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