Yo to tomo ni nagarete zo yuku namidagawa fuyu mo kooranu minawa narikeri - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

世とともに流れてぞ行く涙川
冬も凍らぬ水泡なりけり

Roma-ji: Yo to tomo ni nagarete zo yuku namidagawa fuyu mo kooranu minawa narikeri
English Translation: Flowing on and on
for as long as the world endures,
this river of tears
is a stream of foam that never
freezes even in the winter.
Meaning: The river of my tears flows on endlessly, as long as the world lasts; it is a stream of foam that does not freeze even in winter.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 573

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poet likens his endlessly flowing tears to a river and says that this river of tears is foaming water that does not freeze even in winter. Although winter rivers freeze, the river of tears never does, expressing that the sorrow of love continues without pause regardless of the season. Likening the volume of tears to a river is a convention of love poetry, but contrasting it with winter freezing is the poem's own touch. From here on in this book, poems with the headnote "Topic unknown" follow.
Ki no Tsurayuki was a poet of the early Heian period, the son of Ki no Mochiyuki. He was the leading compiler of the Kokinshū and wrote its Japanese preface. He served as Governor of Tosa and is also known as the author of the Tosa Diary, which records his journey back to the capital. He is one of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals.

First line, "yo to tomo ni": forever, constantly.
Second line, "nagarete zo yuku": the binding particle zo is resolved by the attributive yuku, emphasizing the unending flow.
Third line, "namidagawa": namidagawa, "river of tears," likens the abundance of flowing tears to a river. Following the previous poem, 572, in which tears put out the fire of love, the exaggeration of tears continues.
Fourth line, "fuyu mo kooranu": the contrast is that winter rivers freeze, yet the river of tears does not. In 591 of this book, by contrast, love is likened to water flowing beneath the frozen surface of a winter river, so the two poems form a contrast around the winter river.
Fifth line, "minawa narikeri": minawa means foam on water. Keri expresses realization, closing with "it was foam that does not freeze."
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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