Aku to ieba shizugokoro naki haru no yo no yume to ya kimi o yoru nomi wa min - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

明くといへば静心なき春の夜の
夢とや君を夜のみは見ん

Roma-ji: Aku to ieba shizugokoro naki haru no yo no yume to ya kimi o yoru nomi wa min
English Translation: Since they say it's dawn,
no peace is left in my heart—
in the spring night's short
dream, is it you I'll see
only in the hours of night
Meaning: They say the night is already breaking, and I have no peace of heart. Am I to see you only at night, like a dream on a short spring night?
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems III 1177

Headnote: "Sent the next morning after he had begun to visit a princess."
This is the first poem of a sequence on the feelings of the morning after. Like a dream of the short spring night that leaves no peace because dawn comes so soon, will he see her only by night? According to the headnote, it is a morning-after poem sent the day after he began visiting a princess.
The author, "Major Counselor Kiyokage," is Minamoto no Kiyokage. A son of Emperor Yōzei, he was made a commoner with the surname Minamoto and rose to Major Counselor.

The first line, "aku to ieba," means "since they say it is dawn." Taking up "the sky that turns toward dawn" of the preceding poem, it begins with the moment of parting when dawn is announced.
The second line, "shizugokoro naki," means "with no peace of heart." It shows that the meeting of a short spring night ends before the heart can settle.
The third line, "haru no yo no," means "of the spring night that quickly dawns." Like "the dream of a spring night" in the last line of 1160 of this book, it overlays the brevity of the spring night with the fleetingness of a lovers' meeting.
The fourth line, "yume to ya kimi o," means "you, as a dream," the particle "ya" forming a kakari-musubi with "n" in the last line. The beloved herself is likened to a dream.
The last line, "yoru nomi wa min," means "shall I see you only at night?" Since dreams are seen only at night, it laments a love that cannot meet by day and may meet only in the short night. The poem is bound together by the association of dream and night.
Author: Minamoto no Kiyokage
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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