Shio mitanu umi to kikeba ya yo to tomo ni mirume nakushite toshi no henuran - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

潮満たぬ海と聞けばや世とともに
みるめなくして年の経ぬらん

Roma-ji: Shio mitanu umi to kikeba ya yo to tomo ni mirume nakushite toshi no henuran
English Translation: Because I hear it is
a sea where no tides rise,
for all my days
without seaweed, without meeting,
must the years go by
Meaning: Is it because I hear you are Ōmi, a sea where no tide rises, that year after year goes by with no seaweed, no chance to see you?
Commentary: Book Nine Love Poems I 528

Headnote: "Sent to a person called Ōmi who lived at a certain place."
The poet wonders whether it is because he hears she is a sea where no tide rises that year after year passes with no seaweed, no chance to meet her. From her name, Ōmi, he calls to mind the lake where no tide rises and entrusts his grief at not meeting to the seaweed "mirume."
According to the headnote, the poem was sent to a person named Ōmi who lived at a certain place. The lake of the province of Ōmi, called the freshwater sea, is a sea where no tide rises, and this is overlaid with her name.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Shio mitanu," means "where no tide rises," referring to a freshwater lake.
The second line, "umi to kikeba ya," means "is it because I hear you are such a sea?", reading in her name, Ōmi, the sense of the freshwater sea. "Ya" is an interrogative particle.
The third line, "yo to tomo ni," means "forever." It is the same line that opens 520 in this book.
In the fourth line, "mirume" is a pivot word meaning both the seaweed "mirume" and "a chance to see you."
The last line, "toshi no henuran," means "must the years go by?", closing with the attributive "ran" in answer to "ya" in the second line.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
Prev Poem: Hikari matsu tsuyu ni kokoro o okeru mi wa kiekaeritsutsu yo o zo uramuru
Next Poem: Karakoromo kite kaerinishi sayo sugara aware to omou o uramuran hata