Yoiyoi ni waga tachimatsu ni kedashiku mo kimi kimasazu wa kurushikarubeshi

宵々に我が立ち待つにけだしくも
君来まさずは苦しかるべし

Roma-ji: Yoiyoi ni waga tachimatsu ni kedashiku mo kimi kimasazu wa kurushikarubeshi
English Translation: Evening after evening
I stand outside and wait;
if by any chance
you should never come to me,
how painful it would be
Meaning: Night after night I stand outside waiting for you; if by chance you did not come, how painful it would be.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts Directly 2929

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts Directly"
A woman who stands outside every night waiting for her lover anticipates and laments a disappointment that has not yet happened. The anxiety of one who waits is expressed poignantly through a hypothetical.
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, "yoiyoi ni," means "every evening."
Line two, "waga tachimatsu ni," means "while I stand outside waiting."
Line three, "kedashiku mo," means "if by chance."
Line four, "kimi kimasazu wa," means "if you should not come."
Line five, "kurushikarubeshi," means "it would surely be painful," anticipating a sorrow not yet come.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Onogajishi hito shini surashi imo ni koi hi ni ke ni yasenu hito ni shiraezu
Next Poem: Ikeru yo ni koi to iu mono o aimineba koi no uchi ni mo ware zo kurushiki