Uchihisatsu miyanosegawa no kaobana no koite ka nuramu kizo mo koyoi mo

うちひさつ宮能瀬川のかほ花の
恋ひてか寝らむ昨夜も今夜も

Roma-ji: Uchihisatsu miyanosegawa no kaobana no koite ka nuramu kizo mo koyoi mo
English Translation: Sun-bright, the palace—
by the Miyanose River
the kao flowers close:
does she sleep so, longing too,
last night and again tonight?
Meaning: Like the kao flowers by the Miyanose River that fold at night, does she sleep longing for me—last night, and again tonight?
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3505

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
As the kao flowers by the Miyanose River fold up at night, the singer wonders whether his beloved, too, sleeps longing for him. Repeating "last night and tonight" conveys the ache of separation going on day after day.
It is one of the love exchanges. The kao flower is thought to bloom by day and close at night, and some identify it with bindweed. The Miyanose River is of unknown location.
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, "uchihisatsu": Thought to be an eastern form of the pillow word "uchihisasu" for "palace."
Second line, "miyanosegawa no": A river of unknown location.
Third line, "kaobana no": "Kaobana" is thought to be a flower that blooms by day and closes by night; the first three lines form a preface.
Fourth line, "koite ka nuramu": "Ka" is an interrogative binding particle answered by "ramu"; the poem pauses here.
Final line, "kizo mo koyoi mo": "Last night and tonight"; 3563 of this book ends with the same line.
Source: Manyoshu
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