Aware chō koto dani naku wa nani o ka wa koi no midare no tsukaneo ni semu - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

あはれてふ言だになくは何をかは
恋の乱れの束ね緒にせむ

Roma-ji: Aware chō koto dani naku wa nani o ka wa koi no midare no tsukaneo ni semu
English Translation: If there were not even
the word that we call "alas"
what then could I use
as a cord to bind together
the tangled threads of love
Meaning: If there were not even the word "alas," what could I use as a cord to bind together my heart, tangled by love?
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems I 502

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poem sings that the heart tangled by love is barely held together by aware, the word of sighing. With the witty conceit of a word as a cord for binding tangled thread, it portrays a lover who keeps his balance by giving voice to his lament. It is distinctive in taking as its theme the power of the word aware itself.

First line, "If there were not even": chou is a contraction of to iu, referring to aware, the word of deep feeling.
Second line, "the word that we call alas": dani means even, and naku wa means "if there were not."
Third line, "what then could I use": ka wa is rhetorical and answers mu at the end, meaning "what could I use? nothing."
Fourth line, "as a cord to bind together": koi no midare no, of the heart tangled by love. It shares the disorder of love with "omoi midarete" in poems 485 and 514 of this book.
Fifth line, "the tangled threads of love": tsukaneo is a cord for binding what is tangled, and tangle, bind, and cord are words associated with thread. It takes the same closing form as "tama no o ni semu" in poem 483 of this book.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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