Arikinu no saesae shizumi ie no imo ni mono iwazu kinite omoigurushimo

あり衣のさゑさゑしづみ家の妹に
物言はず来にて思ひ苦しも

Roma-ji: Arikinu no saesae shizumi ie no imo ni mono iwazu kinite omoigurushimo
English Translation: Robes that rustle so—
as their whispering grew still,
to my wife at home
not a word I said, and came—
how my heart is aching now.
Meaning: As the rustling bustle like silken robes fell quiet, I left without a word to my wife at home—and now my heart aches.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3481

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
As the commotion of departure subsided, the singer left without a word to his wife at home, and now his heart is in pain. Regret at not having exchanged parting words grips him on the road.
The left note reads "This appears in the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection; it has already been given above," and a similar poem from the Hitomaro Collection is found in Book Four, beginning "tamakinu no saisai shizumi."
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, "arikinu no": "Arikinu" is thought to be a fine robe, leading almost as a pillow word to the rustling "saesae."
Second line, "saesae shizumi": "Saesae" is a bustling sound, and "shizumi" means it falls still.
Third line, "ie no imo ni": "To my wife at home," a hypermetric line.
Fourth line, "mono iwazu kinite": "Having come without a word," a hypermetric line of eight syllables.
Final line, "omoigurushimo": "How painful my thoughts," with "mo" exclamatory.
Source: Manyoshu
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