Sayuribana yuri mo awamu to omoe koso ima no masaka mo uruwashimi sure

さ百合花ゆりも逢はむと思へこそ
今のまさかもうるはしみすれ

Roma-ji: Sayuribana yuri mo awamu to omoe koso ima no masaka mo uruwashimi sure
English Translation: Lily blossoms—
"later, too, let us meet again,"
because I think so,
even now, in this moment,
I hold you close to my heart.
Meaning: It is because I hope that, like the lily's name, we will meet again later that even now, at this very moment, I hold you so dear.
Commentary: Book Eighteen 4088

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On the ninth of the same month, the officials gathered for a banquet at the residence of the junior clerk Hata no Imiki Iwatake. The host made three garlands of lilies, piled them on a stemmed dish, and presented them to the guests. Each composed a poem on the garland; three poems."
The poet says that it is precisely because he hopes to meet again hereafter that he holds them dear even now. Responding to Nawamaro's poem, he takes up the same words and answers that the present bond is precious because there is hope of meeting again, closing the three banquet poems.
Ōtomo no Yakamochi was the son of Ōtomo no Tabito, and from 746 he served as governor of Etchū. He is believed to have played a central role in compiling the Man'yōshū, and this book has the character of a poetic diary of his years in Etchū.
The left note reads, "The poem above is by Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi [in response]."

First line, "sayuribana": placing the third line of the preceding poem as his first, he shows that this is a response. Through the sound "yuri" it leads to "yuri" in the second line, functioning like a pillow word.
Second line, "yuri mo awamu to": exactly the same as the fourth line of the preceding poem. Where that poem sang of the future, "let us meet later," this one turns to "now" in its lower half.
Third line, "omoe koso": "omoe" is the perfective form, and with "koso" means "precisely because I think so." "Koso" forms a kakari-musubi construction with "sure" in the last line.
Fourth line, "ima no masaka mo": "masaka" means "now," "the present." "Yuri," later, and "masaka," now, are set in contrast.
Last line, "uruwashimi sure": "uruwashimi su" means to hold dear. "Sure," the perfective form of "su," completes the construction with "koso."
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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