Watatsuumi ni fukaki kokoro no nakariseba nani ka wa kimi o uramishi mo sen - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

わたつ海に深き心のなかりせば
何かは君をうらみしもせん

Roma-ji: Watatsuumi ni fukaki kokoro no nakariseba nani ka wa kimi o uramishi mo sen
English Translation: If like the ocean
my heart were not so deep,
then for what reason
would I ever look upon you
with such bitterness
Meaning: If my heart were not as deep as the sea, why would I ever resent you so?
Commentary: Book Nine Love Poems I 584

Headnote: "Sent to a woman."
The poet asks why he would ever resent her if his heart were not as deep as the sea. He appeals that he resents her only because he loves her so deeply.
According to the headnote, the poem was sent to a woman. Overlaying the depth of the sea with the depth of his heart, he presents resentment as proof of deep affection.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Watatsuumi ni," has an extra syllable and means "like the vast sea."
The second line, "fukaki kokoro no," means "a deep heart," with "fukaki," deep, an associated word with the sea.
In the third line, "seba" sets a counterfactual condition: "if there were not."
In the fourth line, "ka wa" is rhetorical: "why would I, you."
In the last line, "urami" is a pivot word meaning both "resenting" and, through the sea, "ura mi," gazing at the bay: "would I resent you? I would not."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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