Hayaki se ni mirume oiseba waga sode no namida no kawa ni uemashi mono o - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

早き瀬にみるめ生ひせばわが袖の
涙の川に植ゑましものを

Roma-ji: Hayaki se ni mirume oiseba waga sode no namida no kawa ni uemashi mono o
English Translation: If in rapid streams
the seaweed of meeting grew
then within the river
of tears flowing down my sleeves
I would plant it, if I could
Meaning: If the seaweed called mirume, the chance to meet, could grow in rapid streams, I would plant it in the river of tears that flows down my sleeves.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems I 531

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poem sings that if mirume seaweed could grow even in swift streams, the poet would plant it in the river of tears that soaks his sleeves and so gain a chance to meet the beloved. Pivoting mirume, a seaweed, with mirume, a chance to see one's love, and combining it with the exaggeration of a river of tears, it wittily expresses the longing to meet.

First line, "If in rapid streams": hayaki se ni means in swift rapids, a place where seaweed hardly grows.
Second line, "the seaweed of meeting grew": mirume is a pivot word meaning both the seaweed mirume and the "chance to see" one's love. Seba expresses a counterfactual condition, answering mashi at the end.
Third line, "then within the river": waga sode no, of my sleeves, points to sleeves soaked with tears.
Fourth line, "of tears flowing down my sleeves": namida no kawa, tears become a river, is the same phrase as in poem 529, two poems earlier.
Fifth line, "I would plant it, if I could": uemashi mono wo means "I would plant it, if only," with mashi a counterfactual auxiliary and mono wo an adversative exclamation, lamenting a wish that cannot come true.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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