Samidare ni nagamekuraseru tsuki nareba saya ni mo miezu kumogakuretsutsu - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

五月雨にながめくらせる月なれば
さやにも見えず雲隠れつつ

Roma-ji: Samidare ni nagamekuraseru tsuki nareba saya ni mo miezu kumogakuretsutsu
English Translation: In the rains of May
lost all day in long brooding,
such a moon am I,
not one glimpse can you see clearly,
hidden ever behind clouds
Meaning: I am a moon that passes the days in brooding through the long May rains—so I cannot be seen clearly, ever hidden behind the clouds.
Commentary: Book Four Summer Poems 182

Headnote: "When the Minister of the Right of Sanjō was still a lesser captain, he secretly visited a certain house. Five or six courtiers, on a night when the long rains of the Fifth Month had let up a little and the moon was hazy, forced their way in to drink wine, but the captain, whose visits had grown infrequent, was not there. They lingered and joked, saying, Bring out the mistress of the house."
The poet says that she is a moon passing the days in brooding through the rains of the Fifth Month, so she cannot be seen clearly and keeps hidden behind clouds. Likening herself to the hazy moon, she gently declines to appear, as one sunk in gloom since the captain's visits ceased.
According to the headnote, when Fujiwara no Sadakata, later the Minister of the Right of Sanjō, was still a lesser captain, there was a woman's house he visited in secret. Five or six courtiers, on a night when the long rains of the Fifth Month had let up and the moon was hazy, burst in to drink wine, but the captain, whose visits had grown infrequent, was not there. When they lingered and joked, telling her to bring out the mistress, the mistress of the house composed this.
The poet is "the mistress of the house," the woman of the house the captain visited in secret. Her name has not come down to us. The captain, Fujiwara no Sadakata, was a son of Fujiwara no Takafuji who later rose to Minister of the Right and was called the Minister of the Right of Sanjō.

The first line, "Samidare ni," means "in the long rains of the Fifth Month," pointing to the season of long rain in the headnote.
In the second line, "nagame" is a pivot word joining "nagame," long rain, and "nagame," gazing lost in thought. "Ru" is the attributive form of the continuative auxiliary "ri": "spending the days in brooding."
The third line, "tsuki nareba," means "since it is the moon," likening herself to the hazy moon between the clouds. It answers the hazy moonlit night of the headnote.
The fourth line, "saya ni mo miezu," means "not clearly seen," showing that she cannot show herself to others.
The last line, "kumogakuretsutsu," means "ever hiding behind clouds," with "tsutsu" expressing repetition. In the hazy moon she overlays herself, withdrawn and unwilling to meet anyone.
Source: Gosen Wakashu
Prev Poem: Fusu kara ni mazu zo wabishiki hototogisu naki mo hatenu ni akuru yo nareba
Next Poem: Futaba yori waga shime yuishi nadeshiko no hana no sakari o hito ni orasu na