Shiratama no odae wa makoto shikaredomo sono o mata nuki hito mochi inikeri

白玉の緒絶えはまことしかれども
その緒また貫き人持ち去にけり

Roma-ji: Shiratama no odae wa makoto shikaredomo sono o mata nuki hito mochi inikeri
English Translation: The white pearl's cord
did break, that much is true;
and yet, all the same,
another threaded it anew
and has carried it away.
Meaning: It is true the white pearl's cord was broken; but someone else has already threaded it anew and carried it away.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Poems with Tales of Origin and Miscellaneous Poems 3815

Headnote: "Poem in reply; one poem."
The parents reply that the pearl's cord did break, but someone else has already rethreaded it and taken it away. Using the very same metaphor as the preceding poem, they gently let him know that the maiden has already remarried.
According to the left note, there was a maiden who, abandoned by her husband, had remarried into another family. A man who did not know this sent this poem to her parents asking for her hand. Thinking he had not heard the full story, the parents wrote a poem in reply to tell him of her remarriage.
The poets are the maiden's parents; their names are not recorded.

First line, "shiratama no," takes up shiratama wa, the first line of the preceding poem, 3814.
Second line, "odae wa makoto," means "the breaking is true," and the poem pauses after the second line. It first confirms the rumor the suitor had heard.
Third line, "shikaredomo," means "and yet," turning what was conceded toward the fact that follows.
Fourth line, "sono o mata nuki," means "threading its cord anew," exactly repeating the fourth line of the preceding poem. The same line, his own act in the proposal, becomes another's act in the answer—a reversal.
Final line, "hito mochi inikeri," means "another has carried it away." Set against "waga tama ni semu" in the preceding poem, the contrast of "I" and "another" turns the proposal aside.
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Shiratama wa odae shiniki to kikishi yue ni sono o mata nuki waga tama ni semu
Next Poem: Ie ni arishi hitsu ni kagi sashi osameteshi koi no yatsuko no tsukami kakarite