Asashimo no kenubeku nomi ya toki nashi ni omoiwataramu iki no o ni shite

朝霜の消ぬべくのみや時なしに
思ひわたらむ息の緒にして

Roma-ji: Asashimo no kenubeku nomi ya toki nashi ni omoiwataramu iki no o ni shite
English Translation: Like the morning frost,
always on the verge of fading,
at every hour
must I go on longing,
staking life upon the thread
Meaning: Like the morning frost always about to melt away, must I go on longing at every hour, with my very life at stake?
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts through Things 3045

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts through Things"
The poet wonders whether to go on loving at every hour, life at stake, feeling ready to melt away like morning frost. Following dew with frost, it overlays the poet's life on things that easily vanish.
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, "asashimo no," meaning "like morning frost," is a pillow word for "ke," to vanish.
Line two, "kenubeku nomi ya," means "only ever about to vanish," with "ya" a question concluded by the attributive "mu" in line four.
Line three, "toki nashi ni," means "at all times, unceasingly."
Line four, "omoiwataramu," means "must I go on longing?"
Line five, "iki no o ni shite," means "staking my life," "iki no o," the thread of breath, likening life to a cord. The same phrase appears in poems 3115 and 3194 in this book.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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