Utsutsu ni ka imo ga kimaseru ime ni kamo ware ka madoeru koi no shigeki ni

うつつにか妹が来ませる夢にかも
我れか惑へる恋の繁きに

Roma-ji: Utsutsu ni ka imo ga kimaseru ime ni kamo ware ka madoeru koi no shigeki ni
English Translation: Was it in waking life
that my darling came to me,
or was it in a dream?
Am I lost in confusion,
so thick has my longing grown
Meaning: Did my beloved really come to me, or was it a dream? Am I simply bewildered, so dense has my longing grown?
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts Directly 2917

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts Directly"
The poet's heart is so bewildered by longing that it cannot tell whether the beloved's visit was real or a dream. The blurring of the line between reality and dream shows the intensity 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, "utsutsu ni ka," means "in reality?", with "ka" marking a question.
Line two, "imo ga kimaseru," means "did my beloved come?"
Line three, "ime ni kamo," means "or in a dream?", pairing with line one.
Line four, "ware ka madoeru," means "am I confused?"
Line five, "koi no shigeki ni," means "because my longing is so thick," showing a love so intense that reality and dream can no longer be told apart.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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