Tamano "o" yo "tae" nabataene "nagaraheba" shinoburukoto no "yowari" mozosuru (Let the "cord" of my life be "snapped" if it has to be; Were it "prolonged," it would "fray" as I would not be able to hide this love any longer [In this poem, the "o" refers to both a "cord" and "life," "tae" means to "die out"])
玉の「緒」よ「絶え」なば絶えね「ながらへば」しのぶることの「弱り」もぞする