Abukuma no kiri to wa nashi ni yomosugara tachiwataritsutsu yo o mo furu kana - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

あふくまの霧とはなしに夜もすがら
たちわたりつつよをも経るかな

Roma-ji: Abukuma no kiri to wa nashi ni yomosugara tachiwataritsutsu yo o mo furu kana
English Translation: Though I am not
the mist of the Abukuma,
all the night long
I stand there, rising, lingering,
and so pass the nights and years
Meaning: Though I am no mist rising over the Abukuma River, all night long I keep standing near your room, passing the nights, and the years, without our meeting.
Commentary: Book Ten Love Poems II 607

Headnote: "After he had stopped by a woman's room night after night and spoken with her."
The poet says that though he is not the mist of the Abukuma River, he stands there all night long, passing the nights and the years. Visiting the woman's room every night without truly meeting her, he likens himself, standing there in vain, to mist.
According to the headnote, he sent this after stopping by the woman's room night after night and exchanging words with her.
The poet, Fujiwara no Sukefumi, lived in the early Heian period, and few details of his life have come down to us.

In the first line, "Abukuma" is the Abukuma River in Michinoku, a poetic place, and its name is a pivot word containing "au," to meet.
The second line, "kiri to wa nashi ni," means "though I am not mist."
The third line, "yomosugara," means "all night long."
In the fourth line, "tachiwataritsutsu" is a pivot word meaning both mist spreading over everything and the poet standing on and on near her room, with "tsutsu" expressing repetition and continuation.
In the last line, "yo" is a pivot word joining "night" and "the years of life": "I pass the nights and the years." "Kana" is an exclamatory particle.
Author: Fujiwara no Sukefumi
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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