Tsurugitachi na no oshikeku mo ware wa nashi konogoro no ma no koi no shigeki ni

剣大刀名の惜しけくも我れはなし
このころの間の恋の繁きに

Roma-ji: Tsurugitachi na no oshikeku mo ware wa nashi konogoro no ma no koi no shigeki ni
English Translation: Like a sword's keen blade,
my name, I care not for it
any longer now,
so thick in these past days
my longing has become
Meaning: I no longer care about my name, so thick has my longing grown these days.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts through Things 2984

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts through Things"
The poet's longing has grown so intense of late that rumors about one's name no longer matter. It speaks of a love fierce enough to overcome even the fear of gossip.
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, "tsurugitachi," is a pillow word for "na," name, since a sword blade was also called "na."
Line two, "na no oshikeku mo," means "regret for my name," the same expression as in poem 2879 in this book.
Line three, "ware wa nashi," means "I have none," and the poem pauses here.
Line four, "konogoro no ma no," means "of these recent days."
Line five, "koi no shigeki ni," means "because my longing is so thick," the same final line as poem 2917 in this book.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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