Urabuchi ni koyaseru kimi o kyō kyō to komu to matsuramu tsuma shi kanashi mo

浦ぶちにこやせる君を今日今日と
来むと待つらむ妻し悲しも

Roma-ji: Urabuchi ni koyaseru kimi o kyō kyō to komu to matsuramu tsuma shi kanashi mo
English Translation: At the edge of the bay
you lie there fallen, my lord—
“Today, today,” saying,
“he will come,” she must be waiting:
how I grieve for your wife
Meaning: You lie fallen at the edge of the bay, while your wife must be waiting, saying “Today, surely today he’ll come”—how sad she is.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Elegies 3342

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Envoy"
This poem follows the preceding one. For the dead man lying at the edge of the bay, the poet grieves for his wife, who must keep waiting, thinking “today, surely today he will come home.” Narrowing the focus from the “family” of the preceding poem to the “wife,” it turns toward the sorrow of those left behind.
The poet Tsuki no Omi no Obito bore the clan name Tsuki no Omi and the hereditary title Obito; his personal name has not come down to us. All that is known of him is that he composed poems on seeing the body of a traveler fallen on the shore of Kashima in Bingo Province, thought to be near present-day Fukuyama, Hiroshima.

In the first line, “urabuchi” means the water’s edge of an inlet, taking up the chōka’s “pillowing his head on the edge of the bay.”
In the second line, “koyasu” is an honorific verb for lying down: “you who lie fallen.” “Ru” is the attributive of the stative “ri.”
The third line, “kyō kyō to,” means “today, today,” the repetition stressing eager waiting.
The fourth line, “komu to matsuramu,” means “must be waiting for him to come,” using the same line as 3340.
In the closing line, “shi” is an emphatic particle, and “kanashi” with the exclamatory “mo” ends in pity for the wife.
Author: Tsuki no Omi no Obito
Source: Manyoshu
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