Utagata mo iitsutsu mo aru ka ware naraba tsuchi ni wa ochizu sora ni kenamashi

うたがたも言ひつつもあるか我れならば
地には落ちず空に消なまし

Roma-ji: Utagata mo iitsutsu mo aru ka ware naraba tsuchi ni wa ochizu sora ni kenamashi
English Translation: How can you go on
saying such a thing so calmly?
If it were I,
I would not fall to earth at all
but vanish in the sky
Meaning: How can you keep on saying such things so calmly? If it were I, I would not even reach the ground but vanish in the sky.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts Directly 2896

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts Directly"
Addressing a beloved who speaks so calmly, the poet protests the difference in their suffering: in the poet's place, one would vanish in the sky before ever reaching the ground. It is considered a difficult poem, with various interpretations beginning with the meaning of the first line.
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, "utagata mo," is taken to mean "surely, certainly," though its meaning is debated.
Line two, "iitsutsu mo aru ka," means "how you go on saying it," wondering at the beloved's composure. The poem pauses here.
Line three, "ware naraba," means "if it were I."
Line four, "tsuchi ni wa ochizu," means "without falling to the ground," likening oneself to something as fleeting as dew or snow.
Line five, "sora ni kenamashi," means "I would vanish in the sky," with "mashi" expressing the counterfactual.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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