Na yuki so to kaeri mo ku ya to kaerimi ni yukedo kaerazu michi no nagate o

な行きそと帰りも来やとかへり見に
行けど帰らず道の長手を

Roma-ji: Na yuki so to kaeri mo ku ya to kaerimi ni yukedo kaerazu michi no nagate o
English Translation: "Do not go," I thought
she might call and I'd turn back,
and I looked behind,
but going on, I did not return
along the long, long road
Meaning: Wondering if someone would cry "Don't go!" and I would turn back, I kept looking behind me, but I went on without returning along the long road.
Commentary: Book Twelve Thoughts Arising on Journeys 3132

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Thoughts Arising on Journeys"
The poet sets out on the journey, looking back again and again in case someone calls him to return, but goes on along the long road without turning back. Repeating the sound "kaeri" in "kaeri," "kaerimi," and "kaerazu," it conveys a heart reluctant to leave.
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, "na yuki so to," means "do not go," with "na ... so" prohibitive.
Line two, "kaeri mo ku ya to," means "wondering if I would turn back."
Line three, "kaerimi ni," means "looking back."
Line four, "yukedo kaerazu," means "I go on, but do not return."
Line five, "michi no nagate o," means "along the long road," the inversion impressing on us the length of the way.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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