Aimimaku hoshi wa kazu naku arinagara hito ni tsukinami mayoi koso sure - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

逢ひ見まくほしは数なくありながら
人につきなみ惑ひこそすれ

Roma-ji: Aimimaku hoshi wa kazu naku arinagara hito ni tsukinami mayoi koso sure
English Translation: My wish to meet you
is past counting, like the stars
that crowd the heavens,
yet with no moon to reach you
I can only wander lost
Meaning: My longing to see you is as countless as the stars, yet with no way to reach you, like a night without a moon, I only wander in confusion.
Commentary: Book Nineteen Miscellaneous Forms 1029

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Punning on "hoshi," desire and star, and "tsuki nami," having no way and having no moon, the poem overlays the confusion of love on a night sky full of stars yet moonless and dark. The next poem also plays on "tsuki" as moon and means, answering this one in the arrangement.
The author, "Ki no Aritomo," is Ki no Aritomo. The father of Ki no Tomonori, he served as Assistant Minister of the Imperial Household.

First line, "Aimimaku," uses the nominal "maku," derived from conjectural "mu": meeting you.
Second line, "hoshi wa kazu naku," is a pivot word joining "hoshi," desire, and "hoshi," star.
Third line, "arinagara," is concessive: though there are.
Fourth line, "hito ni tsukinami," is a pivot word joining "tsuki nami," having no means to approach, and "tsuki nami," having no moon; "mi" gives the cause.
Fifth line, "mayoi koso sure," pairs "koso" with the perfective "sure." The confusion of a moonless night overlaps with the confusion of love.
Author: Ki no Arimasa
Source: Kokin Wakashu
Prev Poem: Fuji no ne no naranu omoi ni moeba moe kami dani katanu munashi keburi o
Next Poem: Hito ni awamu tsuki no naki ni wa omoi okite mune hashiribi ni kokoro yake ori