Yo no naka ni koi shigekemu to omowaneba kimi ga tamoto o makanu yo mo ariki

世の中に恋繁けむと思はねば
君が手本をまかぬ夜もありき

Roma-ji: Yo no naka ni koi shigekemu to omowaneba kimi ga tamoto o makanu yo mo ariki
English Translation: That in this world
love could grow so thick and deep
I never thought,
and so there were nights I slept
without your sleeve as pillow
Meaning: I never imagined love in this world could grow so heavy, and so there were nights I slept without pillowing my head on your sleeve.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts Directly 2924

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts Directly"
A woman regrets the past: not knowing love could be so painful, there were nights she did not sleep with her lover. Like poem 2867 in this book, it sings of remorse over nights gone by.
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, "yo no naka ni," means "in this world."
Line two, "koi shigekemu to," means "that love would grow so thick."
Line three, "omowaneba," means "since I did not think."
Line four, "kimi ga tamoto o," means "your sleeve."
Line five, "makanu yo mo ariki," means "there were nights I did not pillow on it," regretting chances for shared nights that were let slip.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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