As never before
in this world, I shall lose my
way—the tears that come
before all else are darkening
the very road I must take

Meaning

As never before in this world I shall lose my way: the tears that come before all else are darkening the very road I must take.

Commentary

Part Three: Ukifune

　After two days at Uji, Niou had at last to return to the capital the next morning. Unwilling to part, he spoke this poem, complaining that his tears left him unable to see the road. Ukifune answered, and the two were pulled apart. Back in the capital he reproached Naka no Kimi, and while the Akashi Empress and Kaoru came to enquire after him his longing for Uji only grew.

　Yo ni shirazu is beyond anything known in the world, said of extremity. "The tears that come before all else" are the tears that come before words. Kakikurasu is to darken, and lays the blindness of weeping over the real darkness of a mountain road. The form is the common one for a parting, but bringing in the hardship of the journey suits Niou's position as a man who has come all the way to Uji.

Author

Murasaki Shikibu

Source

Genji Monogatari

Other

As never before in this world, I shall lose my way—the tears that come before all else are darkening the very road I must take

As never before
in this world, I shall lose my
way—the tears that come
before all else are darkening
the very road I must take