Urabure te karenishi sode o mata makaba suginishi koi i midarekomu kamo

うらぶれて離れにし袖をまたまかば
過ぎにし恋い乱れ来むかも

Roma-ji: Urabure te karenishi sode o mata makaba suginishi koi i midarekomu kamo
English Translation: Sad and downcast,
if I lay again upon
the sleeve that left me,
would the love that's gone and past
come back to tangle me again
Meaning: If I were to sleep once more on the sleeve of one who left me in sorrow, would the love that is past come rushing back to throw me into turmoil?
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts Directly 2927

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts Directly"
The poet wonders whether sleeping once more with a former lover would bring the past love back to throw the heart into turmoil, hesitating over a reunion. Fear and expectation mingle at the thought of a finished love flaring up again.
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, "urabure te," means "dispirited, sunk in sorrow."
Line two, "karenishi sode o," means "the sleeve of one who has left," referring to a former lover.
Line three, "mata makaba," means "if I were to sleep on it again."
Line four, "suginishi koi i": "i" is an emphatic particle, "the love that is past."
Line five, "midarekomu kamo," means "would it come back in turmoil?", showing hesitation over a reunion.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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