Kanatoda o aragaki mayumi hi ga toreba ame o matonosu kimi o to matomo

金門田を荒垣ま斎み日が照れば
雨を待とのす君をと待とも

Roma-ji: Kanatoda o aragaki mayumi hi ga toreba ame o matonosu kimi o to matomo
English Translation: The field before the gate,
fenced and guarded, cherished so—
when the sun beats down,
as one waits for rain to fall,
so I wait and wait for you.
Meaning: I guard the field before my gate with a rough fence, and as one waits for rain when the sun blazes, so I wait for you.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3561

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
A woman tends the field before her gate with care, and as one longs for rain in a drought, she longs for her lover's visit. A farmer's urgent longing for rain is laid over the heart that waits for a lover.
It is one of the love exchanges. It contains obscure words, and the second line in particular is unsettled.
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, "kanatoda o": "Kanatoda" is thought to be the field in front of the gate.
Second line, "aragaki mayumi": "Aragaki" is a roughly woven fence, and "mayumi" is thought to mean guarding with care.
Third line, "hi ga toreba": "Toreba" is thought to be an eastern form of "tereba": when the sun blazes.
Fourth line, "ame o matonosu": "Matonosu" is an eastern form of "matsu nasu": as one waits for rain.
Final line, "kimi o to matomo": "Matomo" is an eastern form of "matsu mo," repeating the "mato" of the fourth line.
Source: Manyoshu
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