Wagimoko ni furu to wa nashi ni arisomi ni waga koromode wa nurenikeru kamo

我妹子に触るとはなしに荒礒廻に
我が衣手は濡れにけるかも

Roma-ji: Wagimoko ni furu to wa nashi ni arisomi ni waga koromode wa nurenikeru kamo
English Translation: Never touching
my darling girl at all,
yet by the rocky shore
these sleeves of mine
have come to be so wet
Meaning: Without ever touching my beloved, my sleeves have become soaked along the rocky shore.
Commentary: Book Twelve Thoughts Arising on Journeys 3163

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Thoughts Arising on Journeys"
Without touching his wife, the poet's sleeves have become wet along the rocky shore. The soaking by waves is overlaid with tears of longing for his wife. It shares its final line with the next poem.
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, "wagimoko ni," means "my darling."
Line two, "furu to wa nashi ni," means "without touching."
Line three, "arisomi ni," means "along the rocky shore."
Line four, "waga koromode wa," means "my sleeves."
Line five, "nurenikeru kamo," means "have become wet," overlaying the soaking by waves with tears of longing for his wife.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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