Owemu inochi koko wa omowazu tadashiku mo imo ni awazaru koto o shi zo omou

終へむ命ここは思はずただしくも
妹に逢はざることをしぞ思ふ

Roma-ji: Owemu inochi koko wa omowazu tadashiku mo imo ni awazaru koto o shi zo omou
English Translation: This life that must end
I give no thought to it;
it is only this,
that I cannot meet my love,
that fills up all my mind
Meaning: I give no thought to this life that must end; all I think of is that I cannot meet my beloved.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts Directly 2920

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts Directly"
The poet gives no thought to life coming to an end and broods only on not being able to meet the beloved. Weighing the grief of separation more heavily than life itself reveals the strength 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, "owemu inochi," means "a life that will end."
Line two, "koko wa omowazu," means "I do not care about that," and the poem pauses here.
Line three, "tadashiku mo," is taken to mean "simply, solely."
Line four, "imo ni awazaru," means "not meeting my beloved."
Line five, "koto o shi zo omou": "shi" is emphatic and "zo" is concluded by the attributive "omou," stressing that this alone fills the mind.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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