Omoiyaru sube no tadoki mo ware wa nashi awazute maneku tsuki no henureba

思ひ遣るすべのたどきも我れはなし
逢はずてまねく月の経ぬれば

Roma-ji: Omoiyaru sube no tadoki mo ware wa nashi awazute maneku tsuki no henureba
English Translation: To ease my longing
I have no way at all,
no means remain,
for without our meeting
many months have passed
Meaning: I have no means at all to ease my longing, for many months have passed without our meeting.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts Directly 2892

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts Directly"
The poet laments having no means to ease longing as many months pass without meeting. Poems of this same pattern, losing all recourse as time passes, recur throughout this book.
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, "omoiyaru," means "to ease one's feelings, console the heart."
Line two, "sube no tadoki mo," means "any way or clue," the same expression as in poem 2881 in this book.
Line three, "ware wa nashi," means "I have none," and the poem pauses here.
Line four, "awazute maneku," means "many, without meeting."
Line five, "tsuki no henureba," means "since the months have passed." With poems 2881 and 2941 it forms a group of the same pattern, closing the lament of lost recourse with the passing of time.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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