Komatsurugi waga kokoro kara yoso nomi ni mitsutsu ya kimi o koiwatarinamu

高麗剣我が心から外のみに
見つつや君を恋ひわたりなむ

Roma-ji: Komatsurugi waga kokoro kara yoso nomi ni mitsutsu ya kimi o koiwatarinamu
English Translation: Like a Korean sword,
because of this heart of mine
only from afar
must I look upon you,
longing on and on
Meaning: Because of my own heart, must I go on longing for you, only watching from afar?
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts through Things 2983

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts through Things"
A woman laments that, because of her own timid heart, she must go on longing while only watching from afar. Locating the cause in her own heart gives the poem an introspective tone.
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, "komatsurugi," a sword in the Korean style with a ring on its pommel, is a pillow word for "waga," which begins with the sound "wa," ring.
Line two, "waga kokoro kara," means "because of my own heart."
Line three, "yoso nomi ni," means "only from afar."
Line four, "mitsutsu ya kimi o," means "watching you," with "ya" a question concluded by the attributive "namu" in line five.
Line five, "koiwatarinamu," means "must I go on longing?"
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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