Aiomowazu kimi wa masamedo katakoi ni are wa zo kouru kimi ga sugata ni

相思はず君はまさめど片恋に
我れはぞ恋ふる君が姿に

Roma-ji: Aiomowazu kimi wa masamedo katakoi ni are wa zo kouru kimi ga sugata ni
English Translation: Though you do not
love me as I love you,
in one-sided love
it is I who long for you,
for the very sight of you
Meaning: Though you do not return my feelings, I go on in one-sided love, longing for the sight of you.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts Directly 2933

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts Directly"
A woman, knowing full well that her beloved does not return her feelings, goes on yearning for the sight of him in one-sided love. Her single-mindedness toward an unrequited love is emphasized by inversion.
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, "aiomowazu," means "without mutual love."
Line two, "kimi wa masamedo": "masu" is honorific, "though you may be so."
Line three, "katakoi ni," means "in one-sided love."
Line four, "are wa zo kouru": "zo" is concluded by the attributive "kouru."
Line five, "kimi ga sugata ni," means "for the sight of you," inverted with line four.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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