Hitogoto wa makoto narikeri shitahimo no tokenu ni shiruki kokoro to omoeba - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

人ごとはまことなりけり下紐の
解けぬにしるき心と思へば

Roma-ji: Hitogoto wa makoto narikeri shitahimo no tokenu ni shiruki kokoro to omoeba
English Translation: What people say
turns out to be true—
my undersash
will not come undone, and that
shows plainly what is in your heart
Meaning: The rumors were true after all: when I see that my undersash will not come undone, your heart is plain to see.
Commentary: Book Nine Love Poems I 523

Headnote: "Sent to a woman."
The poet says that the rumors were true, for the undersash that will not come undone shows plainly that she does not love him. Drawing on the folk belief that one's undersash comes loose of itself when someone longs for one, he reproaches her coldness.
According to the headnote, the poem was sent to a woman. The next poem also sings of an undersash that will not come undone, so that two poems based on the same belief stand together.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Hitogoto wa," means "what people say, the rumors."
The second line, "makoto narikeri," means "were true after all," and the poem pauses here.
The third line, "shitahimo no," means "of the undersash," the cord of one's undergarment; the second line of the next poem uses the same word, "waga shitahimo no."
The fourth line, "tokenu ni shiruki," means "plain to see in its not coming undone," drawing on the belief that the undersash loosens when someone longs for one. It answers "tokenu wa" in the fourth line of the next poem.
The last line, "kokoro to omoeba," means "when I think it is your heart," giving the reason for the second line in inverted order.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
Prev Poem: Itsushika to waga matsuyama ni ima wa tote koyu naru nami ni nururu sode kana
Next Poem: Musubiokishi waga shitahimo no ima made ni tokenu wa hito no koinu narikeri