Oyamada no ike no tsutsumi ni sasu yanagi nari mo narazu mo na to futari wa mo

小山田の池の堤にさす柳
成りも成らずも汝と二人はも

Roma-ji: Oyamada no ike no tsutsumi ni sasu yanagi nari mo narazu mo na to futari wa mo
English Translation: In the mountain fields,
on the bank beside the pond,
a willow slip set—
whether it take root or no,
you and I, the two of us.
Meaning: Like a willow slip set in the bank of the mountain-field pond, whether it takes root or not, whether our love comes true or not—just you and I, together.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3492

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
As one cannot know whether a willow cutting on the pond bank will take root, the singer cannot know whether their love will bear fruit, yet wishes to be together with the beloved. It is the resolve of a single-minded love that cares nothing for the outcome.
It is one of the love exchanges and, following the preceding poem, sings of a willow. Where that poem contrasts the regrowing willow with human death, this one lays a willow cutting over the course of the couple's love.
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, "oyamada no": Paddy fields among the hills, with the prefix "o."
Second line, "ike no tsutsumi ni": "On the pond's embankment."
Third line, "sasu yanagi": A willow cutting, taking up "willow" from the preceding poem. The first three lines form a preface.
Fourth line, "nari mo narazu mo": "Whether it roots or not," whether our love comes true or not.
Final line, "na to futari wa mo": "Wa mo" is exclamatory: you and I together.
Source: Manyoshu
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