Awazu shite yukaba oshikemu makuraga no koga kogu fune ni kimi mo awanu kamo

逢はずして行かば惜しけむ麻久良我の
許我漕ぐ船に君も逢はぬかも

Roma-ji: Awazu shite yukaba oshikemu makuraga no koga kogu fune ni kimi mo awanu kamo
English Translation: Without our meeting,
should you go, how sad that would be—
at Makuraga,
on a boat that rows past Koga,
could I not meet with you there?
Meaning: How sad if you should go without our meeting—could I not meet you on a boat rowing past Koga in Makuraga?
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3558

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
It would be a pity to part without meeting, so the singer wishes to meet the beloved even on a boat rowing past Koga. A fragile hope pinned on a chance meeting along the way is expressed.
It is one of the love exchanges and, after 3555, sings of "Makuraga no Koga." Some take it as the song of a wandering woman entertainer on a boat journey.
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, "awazu shite": "Without meeting," a scene of parting.
Second line, "yukaba oshikemu": "It would be a pity to go," with "kemu" conjectural; the poem pauses here.
Third line, "makuraga no": A place name also seen in 3449 and 3555.
Fourth line, "koga kogu fune ni": A boat rowing past Koga, after "Koga no watari" in 3555.
Final line, "kimi mo awanu kamo": "Nu kamo" expresses a wish: could I not meet you? The line is hypermetric.
Source: Manyoshu
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