Utsutsu ni to omoite shikamo ime nomi ni tamoto makinu to mireba sube nashi

うつつにと思ひてしかも夢のみに
手本巻き寝と見ればすべなし

Roma-ji: Utsutsu ni to omoite shikamo ime nomi ni tamoto makinu to mireba sube nashi
English Translation: That it were real—
how I long to think it so;
only in my dreams
pillowed on her arm I slept—
seeing this, I am helpless
Meaning: How I wish I could believe it was real—for only in my dreams do I sleep pillowed on her arm, and seeing this, I am helpless with grief.
Commentary: Book Nineteen 4237

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A poem grieving for a dead wife, with a short poem [author unknown]"; envoy, one poem
An envoy to the long poem mourning a dead wife, it says that when the speaker dreams of sleeping pillowed on his wife's arm, he cannot help wishing it were real, and is helpless with grief. Taking up the long poem's lament that, despite prayers to the gods, his wife has become a cloud trailing away, it expresses the sorrow of meeting her only in dreams.
The left note says, "The above two poems were recited by the wandering entertainer Gamō"; she transmitted them as old poems at the banquet on the third day of the first month. The headnote says the author is "not yet known," and the poet is unidentified.

First line, "utsutsu ni to" (that it were real): "utsutsu" means waking reality, setting up the contrast with dreams.
Second line, "omoite shikamo" (how I wish to think so): "te shikamo" expresses a wish; the poem pauses here.
Third line, "ime nomi ni" (only in dreams): "ime" is an old form of "yume" (dream), and "nomi" limits it to dreams alone.
Fourth line, "tamoto makinu to" (that I slept pillowed on her arm): "tamoto" is the sleeve or arm, showing he lay with his wife.
Fifth line, "mireba sube nashi" (seeing it, I am helpless): "sube nashi" means there is nothing to be done, closing with desolation after waking.
Source: Manyoshu
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