Au koto no yoyo o hedatsuru kuretake no fushi no kazu naki koi mo suru kana - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

逢ふことのよよを隔つる呉竹の
節の数なき恋もするかな

Roma-ji: Au koto no yoyo o hedatsuru kuretake no fushi no kazu naki koi mo suru kana
English Translation: Our meeting is kept
far apart, age upon age,
like the bamboo's joints—
as countless as its nodes,
such is the love I bear
Meaning: As the joints of the kuretake bamboo keep each section apart, so our meeting is held off age after age—and so I bear a love as countless as the bamboo's nodes.
Commentary: Book Ten Love Poems II 673

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet says he bears a love as countless as the nodes of the kuretake bamboo, whose joints keep each section apart as their meeting is kept apart for ages. In the bamboo divided joint by joint, he layers a meeting held far off with a love without end.
Like 646 and 670 in this book, it closes with "koi mo suru kana."
The poet, Fujiwara no Kiyotada, was a son of Fujiwara no Kanesuke and served as Governor of Kii, among other posts. He is one of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals.

The first line, "Au koto no," means "our meeting."
In the second line, "yoyo" is a pivot word joining "yoyo," age upon age, and "yo," the section between bamboo joints.
The third line, "kuretake no," is a bamboo said to have come from China, leading to "fushi," joints.
The fourth line, "fushi no kazu naki," means "with joints beyond counting," with "fushi" an associated word with bamboo.
The last line, "koi mo suru kana," means "such a love I bear," the same last line as 646 and 670 in this book.
Author: Fujiwara no Kiyotada
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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