Wakuraba ni tou hito araba suma no ura ni moshio taretsutsu wabu to kotae yo - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

わくらばに問ふ人あらば須磨の浦に
藻塩たれつつわぶと答へよ

Roma-ji: Wakuraba ni tou hito araba suma no ura ni moshio taretsutsu wabu to kotae yo
English Translation: If by any chance
someone should ask after me,
say on Suma shore,
wet with brine of burning weed,
I pass my days in sorrow.
Meaning: If by chance anyone asks after me, tell them that on the shore of Suma I spend my days in misery, dripping with the brine of the salt-makers and with my own tears.
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems II 962

Headnote: "Sent to someone at the palace when, in the reign of Emperor Tamura, I had become involved in an affair and was living in seclusion at a place called Suma in the province of Tsu"
In the reign of Emperor Montoku, the author, having become involved in some affair, was living in seclusion at Suma in the province of Settsu, and sent this poem to someone at court. Overlapping his life with that of the fisherfolk who boil seaweed for salt, he conveys days spent in tears and misery.
This poem was later drawn upon in the "Suma" chapter of The Tale of Genji as the background for Genji's retreat to Suma, fixing the image of Suma as a place of lonely exile.
It shares the closing line "say that I grieve" with Ono no Sadaki's poem 937 in this book, in the same pattern of one far from the capital entrusting an answer to its people.
The author is Ariwara no Yukihira; Ason is an honorific title. The son of Prince Abo and elder brother of Ariwara no Narihira, he rose to Middle Counsellor and founded the Shōgakuin to educate young men of his clan.

The first line, "if by any chance," renders wakuraba ni, "rarely, by chance."
The second line, "someone should ask after me," is a conditional.
The third line, "on Suma shore," refers to the coast of Suma in Settsu. It has six syllables instead of five.
The fourth line, "wet with brine of burning weed," contains the pivot word tare, both dripping brine for salt-making and dripping tears.
The last line, "I pass my days in sorrow," is the same as the closing line of 937 in this book.
Author: Ariwara no Yukihira
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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