Waka no ura ni sode sae nurete wasuregai hiriedo imo wa wasuraenaku ni

和歌の浦に袖さへ濡れて忘れ貝
拾へど妹は忘らえなくに

Roma-ji: Waka no ura ni sode sae nurete wasuregai hiriedo imo wa wasuraenaku ni
English Translation: At the bay of Waka
I wet even my sleeves
gathering forgetting shells,
yet my darling girl
I cannot forget at all
Meaning: At Waka Bay I soak even my sleeves picking up forgetting shells, yet I cannot forget my beloved.
Commentary: Book Twelve Thoughts Arising on Journeys 3175

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Thoughts Arising on Journeys"
Though the poet soaks even the sleeves picking up forgetting shells at Waka Bay, the beloved cannot be forgotten. Speaking of a heart that cannot forget despite the shell's name, it shares the idea of poem 3084 in this book. A variant gives the last line as "wasurekanetsu mo."
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, "Waka no ura ni," means "at Waka Bay" in Wakayama City, a hypermetric line of six syllables.
Line two, "sode sae nurete," means "soaking even my sleeves," with an overtone of tears.
Line three, "wasuregai," the shell thought to make one forget love, also appears in poem 3084 in this book.
Line four, "hiriedo imo wa," means "though I gather them, my beloved," read "hiriedo" in the kana line.
Line five, "wasuraenaku ni," means "I cannot forget."
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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