With tears they are wet,
As I wring them—these sleeves soaked;
Of the people here,
Is the cruel heart of the world
The drops falling from my sleeve?

Meaning

As I wring my sleeves soaked with tears, are the drops that fall the very cruel heart of the one in this world?

Commentary

75. At Ōyodo

A certain man said to a woman, "I wish to take you with me to the province of Ise and live there together."
This poem is the man’s reply to the woman’s poem: "From the rocks between / The mirume grows there—if still / It shows no change yet, / Ebbing tide and rising tide / May bring shells to cling at last."

Though I weep so much that I can wring my sleeves soaked with tears, you remain perfectly calm—this is the feeling expressed in the poem.
In this episode, the woman who is completely unmoved by the man’s invitation is portrayed through the exchange of poems between them.

Source

Ise Monogatari

Other

Sleeves wet with the sea, As the fisher cuts and dries Miru of the sea— Is it only seeing me That you will let it end so?
From the rocks between The mirume grows there—if still It shows no change yet, Ebbing tide and rising tide May bring shells to cling at last.
At Ōhara here, Even Mount Oshio today Surely will recall The age of the gods of old— This day of all days, surely.
All the mountains now Have moved here to gather today— Surely it must be To mourn the springtime parting We bid to her this season.

With tears they are wet, As I wring them—these sleeves soaked; Of the people here, Is the cruel heart of the world The drops falling from my sleeve?

With tears they are wet,
As I wring them—these sleeves soaked;
Of the people here,
Is the cruel heart of the world
The drops falling from my sleeve?