Azusayumi sue ni tama maki kakususu zo nenana narinishi oku o kanukanu

梓弓末に玉巻きかくすすぞ
寝なななりにし奥をかぬかぬ

Roma-ji: Azusayumi sue ni tama maki kakususu zo nenana narinishi oku o kanukanu
English Translation: A catalpa bow,
jewels wound about its tip—
cherishing you so,
we came never to lie as one,
ever fretting what lay ahead.
Meaning: Like jewels wound about the tip of a catalpa bow, I cherished you so carefully that we never came to sleep together, always fretting over what lay ahead.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3487

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
Like jewels wound around the tip of a catalpa bow, the singer cherished the beloved so carefully that, worrying over the future, they never came to lie together. Regret for an overly cautious love is expressed.
It is one of the love exchanges. Like 3410 from Kōzuke, "oku o na kane so masaka shi yokaba," it sings of a love that frets over "oku," what lies ahead.
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, "azusayumi": A bow of catalpa wood, a pillow word for "tip."
Second line, "sue ni tama maki": Winding jewels on the bow's tip, a figure for cherishing; the first two lines form a preface.
Third line, "kakususu zo": "Kakususu" is thought to mean "while doing so," with "zo" a binding particle.
Fourth line, "nenana narinishi": "Nenana" is an eastern form of "without sleeping": they never came to lie together.
Final line, "oku o kanukanu": "Oku" is the future and "kanukanu" means fretting over this and that, the same idea as "oku o na kane so" in 3410.
Source: Manyoshu
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