Takaki ne ni kumo no tsuku nosu ware sae ni kimi ni tsukinana takane to moite

高き嶺に雲のつくのす我れさへに
君につきなな高嶺と思ひて

Roma-ji: Takaki ne ni kumo no tsuku nosu ware sae ni kimi ni tsukinana takane to moite
English Translation: On the lofty peak
as the clouds cling close and fast,
so would I, as well,
cling to you and cling, my love,
thinking you my lofty peak.
Meaning: As clouds cling to a lofty peak, so I too would cling to you, my love—thinking of you as my high mountain.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3514

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
As clouds cling to a high peak, a woman wishes to cling to her beloved, thinking of him as her lofty mountain. The cloud yearning toward the peak carries a heart that looks up to him with devotion.
It is one of the love exchanges and the fifth in the cloud sequence. "Takaki ne" in the first line and "takane" in the last echo each other from beginning to end.
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, "takaki ne ni": "On a high peak," echoing "takane" in the last line.
Second line, "kumo no tsuku nosu": "Nosu" is an eastern form of "nasu," like; the first two lines form a preface.
Third line, "ware sae ni": "Even I."
Fourth line, "kimi ni tsukinana": "Nana" is thought to be an eastern form of wishing: I would cling. The poem pauses here.
Final line, "takane to moite": "Thinking of you as a high peak," taking up "takaki ne" from the first line.
Source: Manyoshu
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