Were I one who counts,
I should have known in my own
self the world's hardness—
and still it is for another
that these sleeves of mine are wet

Meaning

Were I someone who counts, I should have known the world's hardness in my own person; and still it is for another that my sleeves are wet.

Commentary

Part Two: Yugiri

　With Kumoinokari gone to her father's, Yugiri's household stayed unsettled. About then a letter came to her from Tono Naishi, Yugiri's other wife. She was Koremitsu's daughter, not of high birth, and she and Kumoinokari had long been in touch. This poem was in the letter of consolation. Kumoinokari answered, and the two women each considered the other's position. A relationship of many years is drawn again here, now against the collapse of a marriage.

　"Were I one who counts" is a supposition that begins from her own low rank. "Should have known in my own self" is a contrary-to-fact construction. "The world's hardness" is what the world does to one, here a husband's change of heart. "For another" is weeping on someone else's account—on Kumoinokari's. Using the lowness of her own standing as the ground on which to offer comfort makes for an oblique poem, and it shows the relation between these two women very well.

Author

Murasaki Shikibu

Source

Genji Monogatari

Other

Were I one who counts, I should have known in my own self the world's hardness— and still it is for another that these sleeves of mine are wet

Were I one who counts,
I should have known in my own
self the world's hardness—
and still it is for another
that these sleeves of mine are wet