Mi o wakete aramahoshiku zo omōyuru hito wa kurushi to iikeru mono o - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

身を分けてあらまほしくぞ思ほゆる
人は苦しと言ひけるものを

Roma-ji: Mi o wakete aramahoshiku zo omōyuru hito wa kurushi to iikeru mono o
English Translation: I could wish, it seems,
to divide myself in two
and be in both places—
though people have always said
that this brings only pain
Meaning: I find myself wishing I could split myself in two, though people have said that such a thing brings only pain.
Commentary: Book Nine Love Poems I 575

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet says he finds himself wishing he could split himself in two, though people have said such a thing brings only pain. It expresses a longing strong enough to wish for one self that stays beside the beloved and another besides.
In wishing to divide himself even while knowing the pain people speak of, the poem carries the urgency of love.
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, "Mi o wakete," means "dividing myself in two."
In the second line, "mahoshi" is an auxiliary of desire: "I would wish to be," with "zo" an emphatic particle.
The third line, "omōyuru," means "so I find myself feeling," closing in the attributive form in answer to "zo" in the second line. The poem pauses here.
The fourth line, "hito wa kurushi to," means "that people call it painful."
In the last line, "mono o" expresses concession: "though they have said so."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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