Shirotae no sode karete nuru nubatama no koyoi wa haya mo akeba akenamu

白栲の袖離れて寝るぬばたまの
今夜は早も明けば明けなむ

Roma-ji: Shirotae no sode karete nuru nubatama no koyoi wa haya mo akeba akenamu
English Translation: Apart from your sleeves
of pure white cloth I sleep;
this jet-black night,
if it will dawn, then let it dawn,
let it dawn and soon be gone
Meaning: Sleeping apart from your white sleeves tonight, I say let this dark night end quickly, if it is going to end.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts Directly 2962

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts Directly"
Sleeping alone apart from the beloved, the poet finds the night long and painful and wishes it would end quickly. In contrast to poems lamenting the dawn after a shared night, the wish for a solitary night to end reveals the depth of loneliness.
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, "shirotae no," is a pillow word for "sode," sleeve.
Line two, "sode karete nuru," means "sleeping apart from your sleeves," alone.
Line three, "nubatama no," is a pillow word for "koyoi," tonight.
Line four, "koyoi wa haya mo," means "tonight, quickly."
Line five, "akeba akenamu," means "if it will dawn, let it dawn." Whereas poem 2859 in this book wished the night would not end, here the poet wishes a solitary night to end quickly.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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