Nakanaka ni hito to arazu wa kuwako ni mo naramashi mono o tama no o bakari

なかなかに人とあらずは桑子にも
ならましものを玉の緒ばかり

Roma-ji: Nakanaka ni hito to arazu wa kuwako ni mo naramashi mono o tama no o bakari
English Translation: Rather, after all,
than to be a human being,
I'd have been a silkworm
in the mulberry, if only
for a life as brief as that
Meaning: Rather than living as a human, I would sooner have become a silkworm, even for a life as short as a jewel's cord.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts through Things 3086

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts through Things"
The poet says it would have been better to become a silkworm, even for a short life, than to suffer love as a human. It expresses the pain of being human through a wish to be a small creature, though interpretations vary.
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, "nakanaka ni," means "rather, after all," the same opening as poem 2899 in this book.
Line two, "hito to arazu wa," means "rather than living as a person."
Line three, "kuwako ni mo," means "even a silkworm."
Line four, "naramashi mono o," means "I would have become," and the poem pauses here.
Line five, "tama no o bakari," means "if only for a life as short as a jewel cord," continuing the jewel cord of the preceding poems.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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