Koishiki ga kata mo kata koso ari to kike tatere oredomo naki kokochi kana - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

恋しきが方も方こそありと聞け
立てれ居れどもなき心地かな

Roma-ji: Koishiki ga kata mo kata koso ari to kike tatere oredomo naki kokochi kana
English Translation: Even longing, too,
has a direction of its own,
or so I have heard—
yet standing up or sitting,
I feel there is none at all
Meaning: They say that even longing has its proper direction, yet whether I stand or sit, I feel as though there is none at all.
Commentary: Book Nineteen Miscellaneous Forms 1024

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Everything should have a direction to face, the poet says, yet longing alone leaves him no place to settle whichever way he turns. The doubling in "kata mo kata koso" and the colloquial "tatere oredomo" give the poem its haikai tone.
The author is unknown and is recorded as "Anonymous."

First line, "Koishiki ga," means longing, as the subject.
Second line, "kata mo kata koso," repeats "kata," direction, stressing that longing too must have its own direction.
Third line, "ari to kike," is the perfective form answering "koso," leading concessively into what follows.
Fourth line, "tatere oredomo," means whether standing or sitting.
Fifth line, "naki kokochi kana," exclaims at the feeling of having no direction, no place to be.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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