Komochiyama waka kaerude no momitsu made nemo to wa wa mou na wa ado ka mou

子持山若かへるでのもみつまで
寝もと我は思ふ汝はあどか思ふ

Roma-ji: Komochiyama waka kaerude no momitsu made nemo to wa wa mou na wa ado ka mou
English Translation: On Mount Komochi
till the young maple leaves
turn to autumn red,
I would sleep with you, I think—
and you, how do you feel?
Meaning: Till the young maple leaves on Mount Komochi turn red, I want to sleep with you—and what do you think?
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3494

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
The singer wishes to lie with the beloved from spring until the young maple leaves of Mount Komochi turn red in autumn, and asks how she feels. Taking the turning of the seasons as a measure of time, he frankly sounds out her heart.
It is one of the love exchanges. Mount Komochi is a mountain in Kōzuke, in present-day Shibukawa, Gunma. The vivid passage of time from new leaves to autumn color has made it a celebrated Azuma poem.
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, "komochiyama": A mountain in Kōzuke, near present-day Shibukawa in Gunma.
Second line, "waka kaerude no": "Kaerude" is the maple, named because its leaf resembles a frog's hand.
Third line, "momitsu made": "Momitsu" means to turn red, the long span from new leaves to autumn color.
Fourth line, "nemo to wa wa mou": "Nemo" is an eastern form of "nemu"; the line is hypermetric with six syllables, and the poem pauses here.
Final line, "na wa ado ka mou": "Ado" is an eastern "how," pairing with "wa wa mou" in the fourth line to ask her heart; the line is hypermetric.
Source: Manyoshu
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