Makanashimi nureba koto ni zu sanenaeba kokoro no oro ni norite kanashimo

ま愛しみ寝れば言に出さ寝なへば
心の緒ろに乗りて愛しも

Roma-ji: Makanashimi nureba koto ni zu sanenaeba kokoro no oro ni norite kanashimo
English Translation: Dear beyond all bounds—
if we sleep, our names are on all tongues;
if we do not sleep,
then upon the cords of my heart
you ride, so dear, so dear.
Meaning: So dear is she—if we sleep together, people talk; if we do not, she rides upon the cord of my heart, so dear.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3466

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
If they sleep together rumor spreads; if they do not, longing will not leave the heart—so the singer sings of being caught either way in a painful love. The heart swinging between gossip and longing is shown in an almost parallel structure.
It is one of the love exchanges. It opens with "makanashimi," the same line as 3366 from Sagami.
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, "makanashimi": "Mi" gives the reason: because she is so dear. The same opening as 3366.
Second line, "nureba koto ni zu": "Koto ni zu" means becoming the talk of others; the poem pauses here.
Third line, "sanenaeba": "Nae" is an eastern negative: if we do not sleep together.
Fourth line, "kokoro no oro ni": "Oro" is a cord, with the eastern suffix "ro": what hangs on the heart's cord.
Final line, "norite kanashimo": She rides upon my heart and will not leave, so dear; "mo" is exclamatory.
Source: Manyoshu
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