Aze to ie ka sane ni awanaku ni mahi kurete yoi na wa konani akenu shida kuru

あぜと言へかさ寝に逢はなくにま日暮れて
宵なは来なに明けぬしだ来る

Roma-ji: Aze to ie ka sane ni awanaku ni mahi kurete yoi na wa konani akenu shida kuru
English Translation: What can it mean—
we never meet to sleep as one:
when the sun goes down
you do not come in the evening,
but come when dawn is breaking.
Meaning: What can you mean by it? We never get to sleep together—when the sun goes down you do not come at night, but turn up just as the dawn breaks.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3461

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
A woman reproaches a man who does not come in the evening after sunset but turns up as the night is ending. Her vexation at a lover who arrives when there is no time to lie together is voiced in a sharp tone rich in dialect.
It is one of the love exchanges. Containing many eastern words such as "aze," "nawa," and "shida," it is taken as a model of Azuma diction.
The poet is unknown. The Azuma uta are thought to have been sung among the people of the eastern provinces, and they are marked by plain, open-hearted expression mixed with local dialect.

First line, "aze to ie ka": "Aze" is an eastern "why": what can you mean? The line is hypermetric with six syllables.
Second line, "sane ni awanaku ni": "Though we never meet to sleep together," a hypermetric line of eight syllables.
Third line, "mahi kurete": "Ma" is a prefix: when the sun goes down.
Fourth line, "yoi na wa konani": "Nawa" is an eastern form of "niwa," and "konani" means without coming.
Final line, "akenu shida kuru": "Shida" is an eastern word for time, also seen in "matsu shidasu" in 3363 from Sagami.
Source: Manyoshu
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