Masokagami te ni torimochite miredo akanu kimi ni okurete ikeri tomo nashi

まそ鏡手に取り持ちて見れど飽かぬ
君に後れて生けりともなし

Roma-ji: Masokagami te ni torimochite miredo akanu kimi ni okurete ikeri tomo nashi
English Translation: Like a clear mirror
I would hold up in my hands,
never tired of you,
now that you have left me here
I hardly feel alive
Meaning: Like a clear mirror held in my hands, I never tired of looking at you; left behind by you, I hardly feel alive.
Commentary: Book Twelve Poems Lamenting Parting 3185

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Poems Lamenting Parting"
The poet laments being left behind by a beloved never tired of, like a mirror held in the hands, and hardly feels alive. The mirror image conveys the depth of attachment and deepens the sorrow 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, "masokagami," a clear mirror, leads to "miru," to see.
Line two, "te ni torimochite," means "held in the hands," and the lines up to here form an introduction leading to "miredo akanu."
Line three, "miredo akanu," means "never tired of looking," a hypermetric line of six syllables.
Line four, "kimi ni okurete," means "left behind by you," the same line as in poem 3140 in this book.
Line five, "ikeri tomo nashi," means "I hardly feel alive," the same final line as poems 2980 and 3107 in this book.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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