Ima zo shiru akanu wakare no akatsuki wa kimi o koiji ni nururu mono to wa - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

今ぞ知る飽かぬ別れの暁は
君をこひぢに濡るるものとは

Roma-ji: Ima zo shiru akanu wakare no akatsuki wa kimi o koiji ni nururu mono to wa
English Translation: Now at last I know:
the dawn of an unsated parting
is a time to be
soaked upon the muddy road,
the road of loving you
Meaning: Now I know that at the dawn of a parting that leaves one unsatisfied, one is drenched on the muddy road of longing for you.
Commentary: Book Nine Love Poems I 567

Headnote: "The morning after a man first visited a woman, he went home in the rain and sent this."
The poet says he now knows that at the dawn of a parting that leaves one unsatisfied, one is drenched on the muddy road of longing for her. Going home through the rain the morning after their first meeting, he overlays the mud of the road with the pain of parting and the tears of love.
According to the headnote, the man first visited a woman and, going home in the rain the next morning, sent this. The next poem is her reply, and the two form a pair of exchanged poems. Like 508 in this book, it sings of the pain of parting at dawn.
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 zo shiru," means "now I know," the particle "zo" and the attributive "shiru" forming a kakarimusubi pattern. The poem pauses here, in inverted order with the lower lines.
The second line, "akanu wakare no," means "of a parting that leaves one unsatisfied."
The third line, "akatsuki wa," means "the hour of parting before dawn." Like "akatsuki to," which opens 508 in this book, it sings of the hour when lovers part.
In the fourth line, "koiji" is a pivot word meaning both "the road of love" and "koiji," mud.
The last line, "nururu mono to wa," means "that one is soaked," overlaying wetness from rain and from tears.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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Next Poem: Yoso ni furu ame to koso kike obotsukana nani o ka hito no koiji to iuran