Moda araji to koto no nagusa ni iu koto o kikishireraku wa ashiku wa arikeri

黙あらじと言のなぐさに言ふことを
聞き知れらくは悪しくはありけり

Roma-ji: Moda araji to koto no nagusa ni iu koto o kikishireraku wa ashiku wa arikeri
English Translation: "I must not stay mute"—
so, for comfort of mere words,
you say what you say;
to hear it and know it so
has been a bitter thing
Meaning: Thinking you should not stay silent, you say things only to comfort me with words—and to hear them, knowing them for what they are, has been hard indeed.
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1258

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Occasional Poems"
The speaker hears the words the other offers only as empty comfort, because staying silent would not do, and finds it painful to hear them knowing what they are. The loneliness of one who sees through kind but hollow words is stated frankly.
It is one of the occasional poems and is read as lamenting a lover's heartless words. It comes from the Old Poetry Collection. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "I must not stay mute," has an extra syllable.
The second line, "for comfort of mere words," means solace in words alone.
The third line, "you say what you say," refers to what the other person says.
In the fourth line, "shireraku" is a nominalized form of "shireri": "the fact of knowing."
In the final line, "keri" expresses a realization: "it has been a bitter thing."
Source: Manyoshu
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