Tsuki kaete kimi oba mimu to omoe kamo hi mo kaezu shite koi no shigekemu

月変へて君をば見むと思へかも
日も変へずして恋の繁けむ

Roma-ji: Tsuki kaete kimi oba mimu to omoe kamo hi mo kaezu shite koi no shigekemu
English Translation: Is it that I think
I'll see you when the month has changed,
that already now,
before even a day has changed,
my longing grows so thick
Meaning: Is it because I mean to see you only after the month has changed that my longing grows so thick before even a single day has passed?
Commentary: Book Twelve Thoughts Arising on Journeys 3131

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Thoughts Arising on Journeys"
Perhaps because the poet means to meet the beloved only when the month has changed, longing grows thick before even a day has passed. Contrasting the units of month and day, it shows how quickly longing mounts compared with the length of the wait.
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, "tsuki kaete," means "when the month has changed."
Line two, "kimi oba mimu to," means "that I will see you."
Line three, "omoe kamo," means "is it because I think so?", with "kamo" a question corresponding to "mu" in line five.
Line four, "hi mo kaezu shite," means "before even a day has changed," pairing with "tsuki kaete" in line one.
Line five, "koi no shigekemu," means "that my longing grows so thick."
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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