Kuni tōmi tada ni wa awazu ime ni dani ware ni mie koso awamu hi made ni

国遠み直には逢はず夢にだに
我れに見えこそ逢はむ日までに

Roma-ji: Kuni tōmi tada ni wa awazu ime ni dani ware ni mie koso awamu hi made ni
English Translation: Home is far away,
we cannot meet face to face;
in dreams at least
come to me, my darling,
until the day we meet
Meaning: Home is far away and we cannot meet in person; at least in dreams, come to me until the day we meet again.
Commentary: Book Twelve Thoughts Arising on Journeys 3142

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Thoughts Arising on Journeys"
Far from home on a journey and unable to meet in person, the poet asks his wife to appear at least in dreams until they meet. The love poems relying on dreams, common in the first half of this book, are sung here as travel poems.
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, "kuni tōmi," means "since home is far." Poem 3178 in this book opens with the same line.
Line two, "tada ni wa awazu," means "we cannot meet in person," the same line as in poem 2850 in this book. The poem pauses here.
Line three, "ime ni dani," means "at least in dreams."
Line four, "ware ni mie koso," means "please appear to me."
Line five, "awamu hi made ni," means "until the day we meet," the same final line as poems 2854 and 3188 in this book.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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