Kaze no ue ni arika sadamenu chiri no mi wa yukue mo shirazu narinu beranari - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

風の上にありか定めぬ塵の身は
行方も知らずなりぬべらなり

Roma-ji: Kaze no ue ni arika sadamenu chiri no mi wa yukue mo shirazu narinu beranari
English Translation: Upon the wind,
never settling where it rests,
this self of dust,
not knowing where it will go,
seems destined to drift away.
Meaning: Like dust borne on the wind, never settling anywhere, I seem to be drifting off to I know not where.
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems II 989

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Comparing the self to dust dancing in the wind, the poem laments the future of a fleeting life with no settled place. By identifying with something as small and light as dust, it drives home a sense of helplessness.
It shares the word "where to go" with the previous poem, 988, and 996 in this book also contains the phrase "not knowing where."
The author is recorded as anonymous, and the name has not come down to us.

The first line, "upon the wind," means blown about by the wind.
The second line, "never settling where it rests," refers to having no fixed place.
The third line, "this self of dust," likens the self to dust.
The fourth line, "not knowing where it will go," corresponds to the fourth line of the previous poem and uses the same words as the fourth line of 996 in this book.
The last line, "seems destined to drift away," uses the conjectural beranari. It is the same closing line as 959 in this book.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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