Tamakushiro makineshi imo o tsuki mo hezu okite ya koemu kono yama no saki

玉釧まき寝し妹を月も経ず
置きてや越えむこの山の崎

Roma-ji: Tamakushiro makineshi imo o tsuki mo hezu okite ya koemu kono yama no saki
English Translation: Like a jeweled bracelet
I held my darling as we slept,
and not a month gone,
must I leave her and cross over
this mountain spur ahead
Meaning: I slept with my wife in my arms like a jeweled bracelet, and not a month has passed; must I leave her and cross this mountain spur?
Commentary: Book Twelve Thoughts Arising on Journeys 3148

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Thoughts Arising on Journeys"
The poet laments having to leave his wife, with whom he began sleeping less than a month ago, and cross the mountain spur. The final line pointing at the mountain ahead gives vivid immediacy to the moment of parting.
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, "tamakushiro," is a pillow word for "maku," to wind, the same opening as poem 2865 in this book.
Line two, "makineshi imo o," means "the wife I slept with in my arms."
Line three, "tsuki mo hezu," means "before even a month has passed," showing they were newly joined.
Line four, "okite ya koemu," means "must I leave her and cross?", with "ya" a question concluded by the attributive "mu."
Line five, "kono yama no saki," means "this mountain spur," ending on a noun that points to the mountain about to be crossed.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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