Machikurasu hi wa suga no ne ni omoete au yo shimo nado tama no o naran - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

待ち暮らす日は菅の根に思ほえて
逢ふ夜しもなど玉の緒ならん

Roma-ji: Machikurasu hi wa suga no ne ni omoete au yo shimo nado tama no o naran
English Translation: The day spent waiting
seems as long as sedge roots run,
yet the night we meet—
why is it, of all things,
as short as a string of beads
Meaning: The day I spend waiting seems as long as the roots of sedge, so why is the night we meet, of all times, as short as the cord that threads a jewel?
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems IV 870

Headnote: "Sent the morning after going to a lover's house."
The poet says that the day spent waiting seems as long as sedge roots, and asks why the night of meeting is as short as a jewel cord. Contrasting the long day of waiting with the brief night of meeting, he laments how short their time together is.
According to the headnote, the poem was sent the morning after he visited his lover. 887 in this book likewise laments the shortness of the night.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Machikurasu," means "spending the day in waiting."
The second line, "hi wa suga no ne ni," means "the day, like the roots of sedge," sedge roots being long and serving as a figure for length.
The third line, "omoete," means "seems."
The fourth line, "au yo shimo nado," means "why, of all things, the night we meet," with "shimo" emphatic. It contrasts with "hi," day, in the second line.
The last line, "tama no o naran," means "is it as short as a jewel cord," the jewel cord being a figure for brevity. It closes with the attributive "ran" in answer to "nado" in the fourth line.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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