Ametsuchi no kami o inorite aga kouru kimi i kanarazu awazu arame ya mo

天地の神を祈りて我が恋ふる
君いかならず逢はずあらめやも

Roma-ji: Ametsuchi no kami o inorite aga kouru kimi i kanarazu awazu arame ya mo
English Translation: To the gods of heaven
and of earth I have prayed—
so you, whom I love,
could it be that you and I
shall surely never meet?
Meaning: I have prayed to the gods of heaven and earth—how could it be that I should never meet you, whom I love?
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems 3287

Headnote: "Envoy"
This is the envoy to the variant chōka (3286). Having prayed to the gods of heaven and earth, she declares in faith that she cannot fail to meet the one she loves. The chōka prays to those gods holding offerings of native cloth and hanging bamboo beads thickly. Poems 3306 (“though I pray to the gods of heaven and earth, my longing grows”) and 3308 (“I too prayed to the gods of heaven and earth”) in this book also sing of such prayers, but whereas this poem shows pure confidence of meeting, those two lament that love does not cease despite prayer—a telling contrast.
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, “ametsuchi no,” names the gods of heaven and earth together, the whole object of the prayer.
The second line, “kami o inorite,” means “praying to the gods,” taking up the chōka’s “I pray to the gods of heaven and earth.”
The third line, “aga kouru,” means “whom I love,” its attributive form modifying “kimi.”
In the fourth line, “i” is an old particle emphasizing the subject: “you, surely.”
In the closing line, “me ya” is rhetorical and “mo” exclamatory: “could we fail to meet? Never,” ending in emphatic negation.
Source: Manyoshu
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