Shikushiku ni omowazu hito wa aru rame do shimashiku mo wa wa wasuraenu kamo

しくしくに思はず人はあるらめど
しましくも我は忘らえぬかも

Roma-ji: Shikushiku ni omowazu hito wa aru rame do shimashiku mo wa wa wasuraenu kamo
English Translation: Though she may not think
of me again and again,
as I suppose,
not even for a little while
can I forget her
Meaning: She, I suppose, does not think of me over and over—yet I cannot forget her even for a moment.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems 3256

Headnote: "Envoy"
This is the envoy to the chōka (3255). The other, he supposes, does not think of him again and again, yet he cannot forget her even briefly—the pain of one-sided love. The chōka says that since ancient times love has been called a painful thing, and that, with no way to know the maiden’s heart, he will go on loving in secret at the risk of his life. The envoy sets the gap between their feelings against each other through the echo of “shikushiku” and “shimashiku.”
The poet is unknown. Book Thirteen is built mainly of anonymous chōka and their envoys, and many of its poems preserve the air of old songs and ritual verse.

The first line, “shikushiku ni,” means “again and again,” conjecturing how the other feels.
The second line, “omowazu hito wa,” means “she who does not think of me,” the negative “zu” marking her coolness.
In the third line, “rame” is the perfective form of the present conjectural “ramu,” and “do” is concessive: “though she likely is so,” turning the poem.
In the fourth line, “shimashiku” means “for a little while,” echoing “shikushiku” in sound and setting the two hearts in contrast.
In the closing line, “wasurae” is an old form joining the potential “yu” to “wasuru” (to forget): “I cannot forget,” sealed with the exclamatory “kamo.”
Source: Manyoshu
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