Utsusemi no hitome shigeku wa nubatama no yoru no ime ni o tsugite mie koso

うつせみの人目繁くはぬばたまの
夜の夢にを継ぎて見えこそ

Roma-ji: Utsusemi no hitome shigeku wa nubatama no yoru no ime ni o tsugite mie koso
English Translation: If the eyes of the world
are so many, then at least
in the jet-black night
come to me in dreams,
again and again, my love
Meaning: If the eyes of the world are so many, then come to me again and again in my dreams at night.
Commentary: Book Twelve Dialogue Poems 3108

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Dialogue Poems"
Answering the preceding poem, the poet asks that if others' eyes are so many, the beloved should at least appear again and again in dreams at night. Replying with the same opening line, it proposes meeting in dreams since they cannot meet in reality.
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, "utsusemi no," is the same opening as the preceding poem.
Line two, "hitome shigeku wa," means "if the eyes are so many," answering "hitome o shigemi" in the preceding poem.
Line three, "nubatama no," is a pillow word for "yoru," night.
Line four, "yoru no ime ni o," means "at least in dreams at night," with "o" an emphatic interjectional particle.
Line five, "tsugite mie koso," means "please keep appearing," the same expression as in poem 2959 in this book.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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