Sazareishi ni koma o hasasete kokoro itami a ga mou imo ga ie no atari kamo

さざれ石に駒を馳させて心痛み
我が思ふ妹が家のあたりかも

Roma-ji: Sazareishi ni koma o hasasete kokoro itami a ga mou imo ga ie no atari kamo
English Translation: Over pebble stones
I have made my horse to gallop,
my heart aching so—
is this near the home, I wonder,
of the girl I hold so dear?
Meaning: I have galloped my horse over the pebbles, my heart aching—is this the neighborhood of the house of the girl I love?
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3542

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
Galloping his horse over pebbles, his heart aching for the horse's sake, the singer wonders whether he is near his beloved's house. Guilt at driving the horse and the thrill of drawing near her home are laid together.
It is one of the love exchanges and the last of the horse poems that began with 3532. "Sazare ishi" also appears in 3400 from Shinano.
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, "sazareishi ni": Pebbles, the same word as in 3400; the line is hypermetric.
Second line, "koma o hasasete": "Hasase" is making a horse run, fearing it will hurt its feet on the stony road.
Third line, "kokoro itami": In the "o ... mi" pattern: because my heart aches. The first three lines lead almost as a preface to the heart's pain.
Fourth line, "a ga mou imo ga": "The girl I love"; the line is hypermetric.
Final line, "ie no atari kamo": "Is this near her house?" ending in a hypermetric line of eight syllables. "Imo ga ie no atari" also appears in 3423 from Kōzuke.
Source: Manyoshu
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