Murogaya no tsuru no tsutsumi no narinu gani koro wa iedomo imada nenaku ni

むろがやの都留の堤の成りぬがに
子ろは言へどもいまだ寝なくに

Roma-ji: Murogaya no tsuru no tsutsumi no narinu gani koro wa iedomo imada nenaku ni
English Translation: Murogaya's—
like the dike at Tsuru, near
to being finished,
so my darling girl declares,
yet we have not slept as one.
Meaning: "We're as good as done, like the dike at Tsuru," my girl says—yet we have not even slept together.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3543

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
As the dike at Tsuru nears completion, the girl says their love is on the brink of fulfillment, yet the singer grumbles that they have not even lain together. Frustration at a love that goes nowhere but in words is expressed.
It is one of the love exchanges. Tsuru is Tsuru District in Kai, thought to be near present-day Tsuru in Yamanashi.
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, "murogaya no": Thought to be a pillow word for Tsuru, though its meaning is unknown.
Second line, "tsuru no tsutsumi no": The dike at Tsuru, thought to be in Kai; the first two lines form a preface.
Third line, "narinu gani": "Gani" means on the verge of: as the dike nears completion, so their love is about to be fulfilled.
Fourth line, "koro wa iedomo": "Though she says so," with "domo" concessive.
Final line, "imada nenaku ni": "Naku ni" is an exclamatory negative: yet we have not even slept together.
Source: Manyoshu
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