Arinu ya to kokoromi gatera aimineba tawabure nikuki made zo koishiki - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

ありぬやと試みがてら逢ひ見ねば
戯れにくきまでぞ恋しき

Roma-ji: Arinu ya to kokoromi gatera aimineba tawabure nikuki made zo koishiki
English Translation: Could I bear it, then?
To put myself to the test
I stayed away from you,
and now it is past a joke,
how I long for you, my love
Meaning: Wondering if I could bear it, I stayed away from you as a kind of test, and now I long for you so much it is no joking matter.
Commentary: Book Nineteen Miscellaneous Forms 1025

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Testing whether he could stay away, the poet finds himself longing so much that it is no longer a joke, and wryly admits he cannot manage his own feelings. The quasi-logical idea of testing oneself and the bafflement at the result give the poem its haikai quality.
The author is unknown and is recorded as "Anonymous."

First line, "Arinu ya to," asks whether he could endure it; "nu" is affirmative, "ya" interrogative.
Second line, "kokoromi gatera," uses "gatera," while at it: as a kind of test.
Third line, "aimineba," means when I did not meet you.
Fourth line, "tawabure nikuki made zo," means to the point that it is no joke, with emphatic "zo."
Fifth line, "koishiki," takes the attributive form in response to "zo."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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