Koi sureba waga mi wa kage to narinikeri saritote hito ni sowanu mono yue - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

恋すればわが身は影となりにけり
さりとて人に添はぬものゆゑ

Roma-ji: Koi sureba waga mi wa kage to narinikeri saritote hito ni sowanu mono yue
English Translation: Since I fell in love
I have wasted to a shadow
yet even so
it is not as though I cling
to you, as shadows do
Meaning: Since I fell in love, I have wasted away to a mere shadow; and yet I cannot cling to you as a shadow clings.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems I 528

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poet laments that love has wasted him to a shadow, and though a shadow ought to stay close to a person, even that is denied him. Drawing on the fact that a shadow never leaves its body, it sings of the irony that one who has become a shadow still cannot be near the beloved. It expresses the wasting of love with wit.

First line, "Since I fell in love": koi sureba means because I have fallen in love.
Second line, "I have wasted to a shadow": waga mi wa kage to likens the body wasted by love to a shadow. The "body that has become the shadow of a cresset" in poem 530 of this book likewise likens the lover to a shadow.
Third line, "yet even so": narinikeri means "has become," with keri expressing realization. The poem pauses here.
Fourth line, "it is not as though I cling": saritote hito ni means "and yet, to that person."
Fifth line, "to you, as shadows do": mono yue is adversative, meaning "though I do not cling." It carries the irony that shadows cling to people, yet the poet become a shadow cannot cling to the beloved.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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