Koto naraba omowazu to ya wa iihatenu nazo yo no naka no tamadasuki naru - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

ことならば思はずとやは言ひ果てぬ
なぞ世の中の玉だすきなる

Roma-ji: Koto naraba omowazu to ya wa iihatenu nazo yo no naka no tamadasuki naru
English Translation: If it's all the same,
why not simply tell me so,
"I don't care for you"?
why must what lies between us
be a sash now tied, now loosed?
Meaning: If it comes to the same thing, why not just say outright that you do not love me? Why must our bond be like a sash, now tied, now slipped off?
Commentary: Book Nineteen Miscellaneous Forms 1037

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poem reproaches a lover who neither affirms nor denies their love, likening their conduct to a sash put on and taken off. Comparing the bond between lovers to an everyday sash gives the poem its haikai quality.
The author is unknown and is recorded as "Anonymous."

First line, "Koto naraba," means if it is all the same.
Second line, "omowazu to ya wa," uses rhetorical "ya wa": why not say you do not care?
Third line, "iihatenu," means will you not say it outright. The poem breaks here.
Fourth line, "nazo yo no naka no," uses "nazo," why, and "yo no naka," the bond between lovers.
Fifth line, "tamadasuki naru," uses the honorific "tama" with "tasuki," a sash, which is put on and taken off, as a figure for an uncertain relationship.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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