Yo no naka ni izura waga mi no arite nashi aware to ya iwamu ana u to ya iwamu - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

世の中にいづらわが身のありてなし
あはれとやいはむあなうとやいはむ

Roma-ji: Yo no naka ni izura waga mi no arite nashi aware to ya iwamu ana u to ya iwamu
English Translation: In this world of ours,
where is it that I exist?
I am, and am not;
shall I call it "aware"?
or shall I call it "how bitter"?
Meaning: Where in this world am I? I exist, and yet I do not. Shall I call this "aware," or shall I say, "ah, how bitter"?
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems II 943

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Gazing at a self that lives in the world yet has no sure place in it, the poet wonders whether to call this feeling aware or "ah, how bitter." The lower verse, repeating the same pattern twice, conveys a grief that words cannot settle.
Taking up "it is, and yet is not" from the previous poem, 942, it draws that fleetingness toward the self. Aware links it to 939 and 940 in this book, and "ah, how bitter" to 936.
The author is recorded as anonymous, and the name has not come down to us.

The first line, "in this world of ours," sets the scene.
The second line, "where is it that I exist?", uses izura, a word asking about location.
The third line, "I am, and am not," takes up the closing expression of the previous poem. The poem breaks after this line.
The fourth line, "shall I call it aware?", uses the interrogative ya with the attributive form of mu. It has eight syllables instead of seven.
The last line, "or shall I call it 'how bitter'?", repeats the pattern of the fourth line in parallel, again with eight syllables.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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