Au koto no nami no shitakusa migakurete shizugokoro naku ne koso nakarure - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

逢ふことのなみの下草水隠れて
しづ心なくねこそ泣かるれ

Roma-ji: Au koto no nami no shitakusa migakurete shizugokoro naku ne koso nakarure
English Translation: Since we never meet,
like grasses under the waves
hidden in the water,
with no calm left in my heart
from the roots I cry aloud
Meaning: Since we never meet, I stay hidden like grasses under the waves, and with no peace in my heart, I cannot help crying aloud.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Love Poems V 1360

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown."
This is the fifth poem of the sequence on tears and waters. A love with no meetings is likened to grass hidden beneath the waves, and the speaker, with no calm of heart, cannot help crying aloud. The headnote gives no topic, and the circumstances of composition are not recorded.
The author, "Anonymous," indicates a poet whose name has not come down.
The fourth line of the text reads "shitsunaku," with a note adding "kokoro" (heart) after "tsu." The reading line also has "shitsukokoronaku," and following the note it is read "shizugokoro naku."

The first line, "au koto no," means "meeting."
In the second line, "nami no shitakusa," "nami" is a pivot word joining "nami" (since there is none) and "nami" (waves). Grass growing under the waves becomes a figure for a love that hides from others' eyes.
The third line, "migakurete," means "hidden in the water." As grass is hidden beneath the waves, the speaker hides these feelings.
The fourth line, "shizugokoro naku," means "with no calm of heart." The image of the undergrass swaying in the waves is overlaid.
In the last line, "ne koso nakarure," "ne" is a pivot word joining "ne" (the sound of crying) and "ne" (the roots of the grass). It closes the kakari-musubi of "koso" with the perfective form "rure," a spontaneous form. From the quiet solitary sleep of "koitsutsu zo nuru" in the preceding poem, it moves to the violence of crying aloud.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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