Karibito no tazunuru shika wa inabino ni awade nomi koso aramahoshikere - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

狩人の尋ぬる鹿はいなび野に
逢はでのみこそあらまほしけれ

Roma-ji: Karibito no tazunuru shika wa inabino ni awade nomi koso aramahoshikere
English Translation: The deer that the hunter
goes seeking far and wide would
on Inabi Plain
refuse, and wish forever
to remain unmet
Meaning: The deer the hunter seeks would rather stay on Inabi Plain saying no, and never once be found.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems VI 1009

Headnote: "Sent in reply when she was staying elsewhere and, though no one had told him where she was, he sought her out on his own and sent word."
The poet says that the deer the hunter seeks would wish to stay on Inabi Plain and never be met. Likening herself to a deer pursued by a hunter, and letting "inabi" echo "inabu," to refuse, she tells the man who has sought her out that she does not wish to see him.
According to the headnote, she was staying elsewhere and no one had told him where, yet he sought her out on his own and sent word, and she sent this in reply. 1056 and 1057 in this book also speak of a deer seeking a mate, so poems of love through deer appear again in the latter part of the book.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.
In the main text the third line reads "inahi no ni," which does not match "inami no ni" in the line of kana readings. Here the main text is followed.

The first line, "Karibito no," means "of the hunter," standing for the man who courts her.
The second line, "tazunuru shika wa," means "the deer he seeks," standing for the woman herself.
The third line, "inabino ni," means "on Inabi Plain" in Harima, with "inabi" joining the place name and "inabu," to refuse.
The fourth line, "awade nomi koso," means "only without meeting," with "de" a negative conjunctive particle and "koso" an emphatic binding particle.
The last line, "aramahoshikere," means "is how I would wish to be," with "mahoshi" an auxiliary of desire, closing the "koso" of the fourth line with the perfective "mahoshikere."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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