classic waka stream

年渡るまでにも人はありといふを
いつの間にぞも我が恋ひにける
Roma-ji

Toshi wataru made ni mo hito wa ari to iu o itsu no ma ni zo mo aga koinikeru

English Translation
Though they say some wait
until the turning of the year
and still endure,
when was it, when did it happen
that I came to love like this?
Meaning
They say there are those who can wait until the year turns, yet when, I wonder, did I come to long like this?
Commentary
Book Thirteen Love Poems 3264

Headnote: "Envoy"
This is the envoy to the chōka (3263). There are people who wait a whole year for a single meeting, yet when did she come to long so much? She is startled by a love she cannot hold back. “Until the year turns” is thought to allude to the Herdboy and the Weaver Maid of Tanabata, who meet once a year. The chōka drives sacred stakes and true stakes into the Hatsuse River and hangs a mirror and jewels on them, saying that if there were a beloved like these, he would go home to his land and his house; the left note reports that the Kojiki gives it as the song of Prince Kinashi no Karu at his suicide.
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, “toshi wataru,” means the year passes and turns, indicating the long gap of a year.
The second line, “made ni mo hito wa,” means “people who go without meeting even until the year turns,” said to have the Tanabata stars in mind.
In the third line, “o” is a concessive particle: “though they say there are,” setting others against herself.
The fourth line, “itsu no ma ni zo mo,” means “when ever,” with “zo” and “mo” deepening the question and the sigh.
The closing line, “aga koinikeru,” means “have I come to love so,” with “keri” in the attributive “keru” in kakari-musubi with “zo.”
Source
Manyoshu
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