Ima kon to iu koto no ha mo kareyuku ni yonayona tsuyu no nani ni okuran - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

今来んといふ言の葉もかれゆくに
夜な夜な露のなにに置くらん

Roma-ji: Ima kon to iu koto no ha mo kareyuku ni yonayona tsuyu no nani ni okuran
English Translation: "I'll come to you soon"—
those leaves of words are withering,
drifting far from me;
night after night, then, the dew—
for what does it settle still?
Meaning: Even the words "I will come soon" are withering like leaves, and your heart drifts away; for what, then, does the dew of my tears settle night after night?
Commentary: Book Fifteen Love Poems V 1344

Headnote: "Written on behalf of a man, when the woman who had let him trust her later stopped even answering his letters."
This is the ninth poem of the dew sequence. Though the words of promise wither and the heart drifts away, the speaker asks why the dew of tears still settles each night. According to the headnote, a woman who had given a man her promise later stopped even replying, and the author composed this poem in that man's place.
The author, "Izumi Shikibu," was a daughter of Ōe no Masamune, Governor of Echizen. She took this name from her marriage to Tachibana no Michisada, Governor of Izumi, and later served Jōtōmon'in Shōshi.

The first line, "ima kon," means "I will come soon," a set phrase promising a visit. The same phrase appears in the Kokinshū poem by the priest Sosei, "Ima kon to / iishi bakari ni / nagatsuki no / ariake no tsuki o / machiizuru kana."
In the second line, "to iu koto no ha mo," "koto no ha" means words, and its "ha" (leaf) calls up "kare" in the third line and "dew" in the fourth.
In the third line, "kareyuku ni," "kare" is a pivot word joining "withering" leaves and a heart or letters "drifting away."
In the fourth line, "yonayona tsuyu no," the dew stands for tears and is associated with "leaf." Words may wither, but the dew of tears settles each night without fail.
The last line, "nani ni okuran," means "for what does it settle?" Following the preceding poem's wish to vanish so as not to see the "leaves of words," this poem pairs the same "leaves of words" and "dew," lamenting the dew that still settles after the words have withered.
Author: Izumi Shikibu
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
Prev Poem: Onajiku wa waga mi mo tsuyu to kienanan kienaba tsuraki koto no ha mo miji
Next Poem: Adakoto no ha ni oku tsuyu no kienishi o aru mono tote ya hito no touran