Hitogoto o shigemi kochitami waga seko o me ni wa miredomo au yoshi mo nashi

人言を繁み言痛み我が背子を
目には見れども逢ふよしもなし

Roma-ji: Hitogoto o shigemi kochitami waga seko o me ni wa miredomo au yoshi mo nashi
English Translation: People's talk so thick,
their wagging tongues so tiresome,
my dear husband
I can see with my own eyes,
but have no way to meet him
Meaning: Because the gossip is so thick and wearisome, I can see my beloved with my own eyes, yet have no way to meet him.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts Directly 2938

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts Directly"
A woman laments that, because of gossip, she can see her lover but has no means of meeting him. It conveys the frustration of being near enough to see yet unable to meet.
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, "hitogoto o," means "the gossip."
Line two, "shigemi kochitami," means "because it is thick and troublesome." These are the same opening lines as poem 2895 in this book, sung here from a woman's side to form a male and female pair.
Line three, "waga seko o," is a woman's word for the man she loves.
Line four, "me ni wa miredomo," means "though I see him with my eyes," describing being able to see him but not approach.
Line five, "au yoshi mo nashi," means "there is no way to meet."
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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