Tama no o o katao ni yorite o o yowami midaruru toki ni koizu arame ya mo

玉の緒を片緒に縒りて緒を弱み
乱るる時に恋ひずあらめやも

Roma-ji: Tama no o o katao ni yorite o o yowami midaruru toki ni koizu arame ya mo
English Translation: The cord for my jewels
I twisted from a single strand,
and it was so weak
the jewels scatter; at such a time
could I not long for you
Meaning: Like jewels scattering from a cord twisted of a single weak strand, when my heart is in disarray, how could I not long for you?
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts through Things 3081

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts through Things"
Like jewels scattering from a weak cord twisted of a single strand, when the heart is in turmoil, how could one not long for the beloved? From here three poems on the jewel cord follow.
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, "tama no o o," means "the cord threading the jewels."
Line two, "katao ni yorite," means "twisting it from a single strand."
Line three, "o o yowami," means "since the cord is weak," and the lines up to here form an introduction leading, through scattering jewels, to "midaruru."
Line four, "midaruru toki ni," means "when my heart is in disarray."
Line five, "koizu arame ya mo," is a rhetorical question, "could I not long for you?"
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Watatsumi no oki ni oitaru nawanori no na wa katsute noraji koi wa shinu tomo
Next Poem: Kimi ni awazu hisashiku narinu tama no o no nagaki inochi no oshikeku mo nashi