Ima nomi to tanomu naredomo shirakumo no taema wa itsu ka aran to suran - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

今のみと頼むなれども白雲の
絶え間はいつかあらんとすらん

Roma-ji: Ima nomi to tanomu naredomo shirakumo no taema wa itsu ka aran to suran
English Translation: "Now, if ever," you say,
and I rely on it, and yet
in the white clouds
when will there ever come
a break, I wonder
Meaning: You say now is the time, and I would trust it; but when, I wonder, will there ever be a break in the white clouds?
Commentary: Book Nine Love Poems I 536

Headnote: "Again, the man."
The poet says that he would trust her words that now is the time, but wonders when there will ever be a break in the white clouds. To the woman's assurance in the preceding poem that they can meet now, he returns his doubt, unable to believe her fully.
According to the headnote, the man sent this again in response to the woman's reply in the preceding poem. It is the third of the exchanges woven around clouds that began with 534 in this book.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us. The text gives the poet as "yomibito mo," which is treated here as "anonymous."

The first line, "Ima nomi to," means "that now indeed," taking up "ima koso" in the fourth line of the preceding poem.
The second line, "tanomu naredomo," means "though I would rely on it."
The third line, "shirakumo no," means "of the white clouds."
The fourth line, "taema wa itsu ka," means "when will the break," taking up "taema" in the last line of the preceding poem. "Ka" is an interrogative particle.
The last line, "aran to suran," means "will there ever be?", closing with the attributive "ran" in answer to "ka" in the fourth line.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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