Waga seko ni kou to ni shi arashi midoriko no yonaki o shitsutsu inekatenaku wa

我が背子に恋ふとにしあらしみどり子の
夜泣きをしつつ寐ねかてなくは

Roma-ji: Waga seko ni kou to ni shi arashi midoriko no yonaki o shitsutsu inekatenaku wa
English Translation: It must surely be
that I long for my dear lord,
that like a suckling babe
I weep through all the night
and cannot fall asleep
Meaning: It must be because I long for my beloved that I cry through the night like a suckling baby and cannot sleep.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts Directly 2942

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts Directly"
A woman reflects that she must be crying sleeplessly like an infant because she longs for her beloved. Comparing herself to a suckling baby conveys the helplessness and poignancy of her heart.
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, "waga seko ni," means "for my beloved," showing a woman's voice.
Line two, "kou to ni shi arashi," means "it must be that I long for him," and the poem pauses here.
Line three, "midoriko no," means "like a suckling baby," a word also seen in poem 2925 in this book.
Line four, "yonaki o shitsutsu," means "crying through the night," likening herself to a baby crying at night.
Line five, "inekatenaku wa," means "that I cannot sleep," the inversion with line two giving the reason.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Omoiyaru tadoki mo ware wa ima wa nashi imo ni awazute toshi no henureba
Next Poem: Waga inochi no nagaku hoshikeku itsuwari o yoku suru hito o torau bakari o