Orokanaru namida zo sode ni tama wa nasu ware wa sekiaezu tagitsu se nareba - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

おろかなる涙ぞ袖に玉はなす
我はせきあへずたぎつ瀬なれば

Roma-ji: Orokanaru namida zo sode ni tama wa nasu ware wa sekiaezu tagitsu se nareba
English Translation: Only shallow tears
would form pearls upon a sleeve;
as for me, I cannot
hold them back at all, for mine
are rapids surging wildly.
Meaning: Tears that gather into pearls on a sleeve are only shallow ones. Mine cannot be held back at all, for they are a raging torrent.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 557

Headnote: "Reply"
This is Komachi's reply to Kiyoyuki's poem in the preceding poem. She retorts that tears which stay on a sleeve as pearls are shallow, and that her own tears are a torrent that cannot be dammed, showing a depth of feeling that surpasses his. Taking up his metaphor and turning it against him through exaggeration, it is a witty reply and is known as an exchange that displays Komachi's brilliance.
Komachi is Ono no Komachi, a poet of the early Heian period counted among the Six Poetic Immortals and the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals.

First line, "orokanaru": orokanari means perfunctory or half-hearted, describing the shallowness of his tears.
Second line, "namida zo sode ni": the binding particle zo pairs with nasu in the third line. Answering the phrase "sode ni tamaranu" of the previous poem, she too brings in the sleeve.
Third line, "tama wa nasu": tama o nasu means to form pearls, taking up the "white pearls" of the previous poem. The binding construction ends in the attributive, and the poem breaks here.
Fourth line, "ware wa sekiaezu": sekiau means to be able to dam up, and with the negative zu it means "cannot hold back." The line has eight syllables, one more than the norm.
Fifth line, "tagitsu se nareba": tagitsu se is a rapid where water churns violently, comparing the volume and force of her tears to a torrent. The causal ba gives the reason and closes the poem.
Author: Ono no Komachi
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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