Nagame shite suginishi kata o omou ma ni mine yori mine ni tsuki wa utsurinu - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

ながめして過ぎにしかたを思ふ間に
峰より峰に月は移りぬ

Roma-ji: Nagame shite suginishi kata o omou ma ni mine yori mine ni tsuki wa utsurinu
English Translation: Lost in reverie,
as I thought upon the days
that have gone by me,
from one peak on to the next
the moon has moved across the sky.
Meaning: While, lost in reverie, I thought of the days gone by, the moon moved on from one peak to the next.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1537

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown."
This is the seventh poem of the sequence reflecting on oneself through the moon. While the poet, lost in reverie, thought of days gone by, the moon moved from one peak to the next. The headnote continues from the preceding poem, "topic unknown," and records nothing of the circumstances of composition.
The author, "Imperial Prince Kakushō, Lay Priest," was a son of Emperor Toba. He entered Ninnaji, took the tonsure, and became its abbot.

The first line, "nagame shite," means "gazing, lost in thought."
The second line, "suginishi kata o," means "the days now past."
The third line, "omou ma ni," is the same line as "omou ma ni," the third line of the preceding poem. Whereas the preceding poem thought of his own aging, here he thinks of the past.
The fourth line, "mine yori mine ni," refers to the moon moving from one peak to the next. It shows the passing of time through the breadth of space.
The last line, "tsuki wa utsurinu," declares with the perfective "nu": "the moon has moved on." Like "haruka ni tsuki no katabukinikeru" of the preceding poem, it expresses the passing of time through the moon's movement while one is lost in thought.
Author: Prince Kakushō
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
Prev Poem: Fukenikeru waga mi no kage o omou ma ni haruka ni tsuki no katabukinikeru
Next Poem: Aki no yo no tsuki ni kokoro o nagusamete ukiyo ni toshi no tsumorinuru kana