Ama no kawa nagarete kouru tanabata no namida narurashi aki no shiratsuyu - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

天の河流れて恋ふる七夕の
涙なるらし秋の白露

Roma-ji: Ama no kawa nagarete kouru tanabata no namida narurashi aki no shiratsuyu
English Translation: The River of Heaven
flows on, and the Weaver Maid
who has longed so long—
these must be her very tears,
this white dew of autumn
Meaning: These must be the tears of the Weaver Maid, who has longed as long as the River of Heaven flows—this white dew of autumn.
Commentary: Book Five Autumn Poems I 242

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed on Tanabata."
The poet takes the white dew of autumn to be the tears of the Weaver Maid, who has longed for her love as long as the River of Heaven flows. Seeing the dew on earth as the tears of the Weaver Maid in heaven, the poem conveys the poignancy of the Tanabata love.
From 239 to 247, nine Tanabata poems stand under the headnote "Composed on Tanabata," taking up from many angles the meeting of the Weaver Maid and the Herdsman across the River of Heaven.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Ama no kawa," means "the River of Heaven," leading into "nagarete."
In the second line, "nagarete" layers the river flowing, time passing, and tears flowing. It uses the same phrase as "ama no kawa nagarete koi wa" in 233 of this book.
The third line, "tanabata no," means "of the Weaver Maid."
In the fourth line, "rashi" is a conjecture with grounds: "they must be tears." The poem pauses here.
The last line, "aki no shiratsuyu," ends on a noun and stands in inversion with the fourth line, revealing at the end that what is seen as tears is the white dew. The last poem of this book, 270, likewise takes autumn dew for white jewels.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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