I mo nezu ni aga omou kimi wa izukue ni koyoi tare to ka matedo kimasanu

寐も寝ずに我が思ふ君はいづくへに
今夜誰れとか待てど来まさぬ

Roma-ji: I mo nezu ni aga omou kimi wa izukue ni koyoi tare to ka matedo kimasanu
English Translation: Not sleeping a wink,
I think of you, my lord—
where have you gone?
With whom tonight, I wonder,
for though I wait, you do not come
Meaning: Sleepless, I think of you—where have you gone, and with whom are you tonight? For though I wait, you do not come.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems 3277

Headnote: "Envoy"
This is the envoy to the chōka (3276). As the man she waits for sleeplessly fails to come, she suspects he is spending the night somewhere with someone else. The chōka depicts a woman who parted from her husband without a chance to talk, who could give no answer if a passer-by asked, and who, pretending to wait for the moon rising over the hills, waits for him. The envoy lays bare the anxiety and jealousy of the night of waiting. The phrase “i mo nu” also appears in 3269 of this book, sharing the theme of a sleepless night.
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, “i mo nezu ni,” means “without sleeping,” piling “i” and “ne” to stress the length of the wakeful night.
The second line, “aga omou kimi wa,” means “you whom I love,” naming the one awaited.
The third line, “izukue ni,” means “to where,” voicing the question of his whereabouts.
In the fourth line, the particle “ka” is interrogative, voicing the suspicion: with whom tonight?
The closing line, “matedo kimasanu,” means “though I wait, you do not come,” with “kimasu” an honorific of “ku” (to come); the negative takes the attributive “nu” in kakari-musubi with “ka.”
Source: Manyoshu
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