Nakanaka ni moda mo aramashi o azukinaku aimisomete mo are wa kouru ka

なかなかに黙もあらましをあづきなく
相見そめても我れは恋ふるか

Roma-ji: Nakanaka ni moda mo aramashi o azukinaku aimisomete mo are wa kouru ka
English Translation: Better, after all,
to have stayed silent then;
how hopeless,
now that we have come to meet,
I am still lost in longing
Meaning: It would have been better to have kept silent; hopelessly, even after we began to meet, I am still lost in longing.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts Directly 2899

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts Directly"
The poet regrets that a love expected to calm once they began meeting has only grown stronger. The regret at not having stayed silent reveals the ironic nature of love.
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, "nakanaka ni," means "rather, after all." Poems 3033 and 3086 in this book open with the same line.
Line two, "moda mo aramashi o": "moda" means keeping silent or doing nothing, and "mashi" expresses the counterfactual.
Line three, "azukinaku," means "hopelessly, to no purpose."
Line four, "aimisomete mo," means "even after we began to meet."
Line five, "are wa kouru ka," means "how I long," lamenting a love that grows after meeting.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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