Yami no yo no yukusaki shirazu yuku ware o itsu kimasamu to toishi kora wa mo

闇の夜の行く先知らず行く我れを
いつ来まさむと問ひし子らはも

Roma-ji: Yami no yo no yukusaki shirazu yuku ware o itsu kimasamu to toishi kora wa mo
English Translation: Like a moonless night,
not knowing where it will lead,
I set out to go,
and "When will you come back home?"
she asked me, ah, my dear one
Meaning: As I set out not knowing where my road would lead, like a traveler in the dark of night, she asked, "When will you come back?" Ah, that dear girl.
Commentary: Book Twenty Frontier Guard Poems 4436

Headnote: "A poem by a frontier guard sent in rotation in a former year."
As I set out not knowing where I went, like one in the dark of night, she asked when I would come back, ah, my dear: the poem recalls his wife's words on the day of departure. According to the left note, this and the following three poems were recited and passed on by Ōhara no Imaki, senior secretary of Kazusa Province, and the year and month are unknown. It is thought to be by a guard of a former rotation, fondly recalling the wife who asked a question he could not answer.
The author's name has not come down. It is thought to be a frontier guard's poem from a former year.

The first line, "yami no yo no," "of a dark night," serves as a figure for not seeing the road ahead.
The second line, "yukusaki shirazu," means "not knowing where it leads."
The third line, "yuku ware o," means "me as I set out."
The fourth line, "itsu kimasamu to," uses the honorific masu: "When will you come back?" It quotes his wife.
The closing line, "toishi kora wa mo," ends in the exclamatory wa mo, fondly recalling the wife who asked.
Source: Manyoshu
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