Taenuru ka kage dani mieba tou beki ni katami no mizu wa mikusa inikeri - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

絶えぬるか影だに見えば問ふべきに
形見の水は水草ゐにけり

Roma-ji: Taenuru ka kage dani mieba tou beki ni katami no mizu wa mikusa inikeri
English Translation: Is it at an end?
If your shadow would appear
I would ask of you,
but on the water you left
the water weeds have grown thick.
Meaning: Has it ended between us? If even your reflection would appear, I would ask you, but the water you left behind as a keepsake has grown over with weeds.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 1239

Headnote: "When the Lay Priest Regent had long stopped visiting, she saw that the water in the basin he had used to comb his side locks before leaving was still there."
This is the sixth poem of the sequence of love exchanges. Has our bond ended? If only his reflection would appear I would ask him, she laments, but water weeds have grown over the water he left as a keepsake. According to the headnote, when the Lay Priest Regent had long stopped visiting, she saw that the water in the basin he had used to arrange his side locks before leaving remained untouched, and composed this poem.
The author, "Mother of Michitsuna, the Right Commander," is the Mother of Fujiwara no Michitsuna. A daughter of Fujiwara no Tomoyasu, she became a wife of Fujiwara no Kaneie and bore Michitsuna, later Commander of the Right Palace Guards. She is the author of The Kagerō Diary. "The Lay Priest Regent" in the headnote means a regent who has taken holy orders and refers to her husband, Fujiwara no Kaneie.
This poem also appears in The Kagerō Diary, where the third line reads "tou beki o."

The first line, "taenuru ka," means "has it ended between us?" "Nuru" is perfective, and "ka" is a question tinged with exclamation; the poem breaks after the first line.
In the second line, "kage dani mieba," "dani" means "if only, at least." It supposes that at least Kaneie's image might be reflected in the basin's water.
The third line, "tou beki ni," means "I would ask," and runs on concessively.
In the fourth line, "katami no mizu wa," the water left in the basin after Kaneie arranged his hair is regarded as a keepsake.
The last line, "mikusa inikeri," means "water weeds have grown." "Keri" marks sudden realization; the object before her shows that enough time has passed for weeds to grow in the neglected water. The poem ends in grief that the surface that should reflect his image is covered with weeds, so that not even his reflection can be seen.
Author: The Mother of Fujiwara no Michitsuna
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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