classic waka stream

妹に逢はずあらばすべなみ岩根踏む
生駒の山を越えてぞ我が来る
Roma-ji

Imo ni awazu araba sube nami iwane fumu Ikoma no yama o koete zo a ga kuru

English Translation
If I did not see my love
there would be nothing to do;
treading on the rocks
over the mountain of Ikoma
I have come all this way
Meaning
Since I could not bear to go without seeing my wife, I have come, treading over the rocks, across the mountain of Ikoma.
Commentary
Book Fifteen Poems of the Envoys to Silla 3590

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "The envoys sent to Silla grieve at parting and exchange poems, express their sorrowful feelings on the sea route, and recite old poems suited to the places they pass"
Like the preceding poem, this tells of crossing Mount Ikoma to see his wife. Where the preceding poem pictured the mountain at dusk with cicadas crying, this one pictures the steep path where he treads upon rocks, showing the strength of a longing that will not let him stay away. A left note reads "the above poem expresses his feelings on briefly returning to his own home," telling us that it was made when he went home for a while during the preparations for departure. The author is not named.

First line, "imo ni awazu": without seeing my wife, with the negative "zu."
Second line, "araba sube nami": "sube" is a means, and "nami" is the adjective "nashi" with "mi," giving a cause: since there is no help for it.
Third line, "iwane fumu": "iwane" are great rocks rooted in the earth, depicting the steep mountain path he treads.
Fourth line, "Ikoma no yama o": the same mountain as "Ikomayama" in the preceding poem, 3589; both poems sing of the same crossing.
Fifth line, "koete zo a ga kuru": the same line as the fourth line of the preceding poem, with "zo" resolved by the attributive "kuru." What was the inverted fourth line there is here placed at the end, so that the two poems echo each other by shifting the line's position.
Source
Manyoshu
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