Ashihiki no yamasuge no ne no nemokoro ni are wa zo kouru kimi ga sugata o

あしひきの山菅の根のねもころに
我れはぞ恋ふる君が姿を

Roma-ji: Ashihiki no yamasuge no ne no nemokoro ni are wa zo kouru kimi ga sugata o
English Translation: Like the mountain sedge
whose roots tangle deep and close,
so earnestly
do I long for you, my love,
for the very sight of you
Meaning: Like the roots of mountain sedge that tangle deep, so earnestly do I long for the sight of you.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts through Things 3051

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts through Things"
Like the deep, tangled roots of mountain sedge, the poet earnestly longs for the sight of the beloved. The variant in the left note gives the last two lines as "waga omou hito o mimu yoshi mogamo." From here a series of poems on sedge follows.
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, "ashihiki no," is a pillow word for "yama," mountain.
Line two, "yamasuge no ne no," means "like the roots of mountain sedge," and the lines up to here form an introduction leading to "nemokoro." Poem 3053 in this book opens with the same three lines.
Line three, "nemokoro ni," means "earnestly."
Line four, "are wa zo kouru," means "I long," the same line as in poem 2933 in this book.
Line five, "kimi ga sugata o," means "for the sight of you."
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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