Kawa to mite wataranu naka ni nagaruru wa iwade mono omou namida narikeri - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

河と見て渡らぬなかに流るるは
言はで物思ふ涙なりけり

Roma-ji: Kawa to mite wataranu naka ni nagaruru wa iwade mono omou namida narikeri
English Translation: Taking it for a river,
neither one of us will cross—
what flows between us
are the tears of silent longing,
this I have come to know
Meaning: What flows between us, which we take for a river and do not cross, turns out to be the tears I shed in silent longing.
Commentary: Book Ten Love Poems II 636

Headnote: "To a woman with whom he exchanged glances in the same place but could never meet."
The poet says that what flows between them, a river they see and do not cross, is in fact the tears of his silent longing. He likens the distance of being unable to meet, though they see each other in the same place, to a river of tears flowing between them.
According to the headnote, it was sent to a woman with whom he exchanged glances in the same place but could not meet. Like the River of Tears poems beginning with 610 in this book, it likens tears to a river.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Kawa to mite," means "seeing it as a river."
In the second line, "naka" is a pivot word joining "between," where the river is not crossed, and "naka," the relationship between the two.
The third line, "nagaruru wa," means "what flows."
The fourth line, "iwade mono omou," means "longing without a word."
The last line, "namida narikeri," means "it was tears," with "keri" expressing the exclamation of realization.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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