Utsutsu ni mo hakanaki koto no wabishiki wa nenaku ni yume to omou narikeri - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

うつつにもはかなきことのわびしきは
寝なくに夢と思ふなりけり

Roma-ji: Utsutsu ni mo hakanaki koto no wabishiki wa nenaku ni yume to omou narikeri
English Translation: Even waking,
what makes fleeting things
so hard to bear
is that, though I have not slept,
I take them for a dream
Meaning: What makes even waking things so painfully fleeting is that, though I have not slept, I find myself thinking of them as a dream.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems III 703

Headnote: "Sent when a woman spoke as though she had quite turned her heart away."
The poet says that what makes things fleeting even in waking life so painful is that they seem like a dream though he has not slept. Responding to her cold words, he laments that their bond has become as frail as a dream.
According to the headnote, the poem was sent when the woman spoke as though her feelings had wholly drifted away. The next poem, 704, also has "wabishiki wa" as its third line and "omou narikeri" as its last, following the same pattern.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Utsutsu ni mo," means "even in waking life."
The second line, "hakanaki koto no," means "fleeting things."
The third line, "wabishiki wa," means "what is painful." The third line of the next poem, 704, is also "wabishiki wa," sharing the same line.
The fourth line, "nenaku ni yume to," means "as a dream, though I have not slept," setting "yume" against "utsutsu" in the first line.
The last line, "omou narikeri," means "is that I think so," with "narikeri" expressing a sigh of realization. It is the same as the last line of the next poem.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
Prev Poem: Shitahimo no shirushi to suru mo tokenaku ni kataru ga goto wa arazu mo aru kana
Next Poem: Tamuke senu wakare suru mi no wabishiki wa hitome o tabi to omou narikeri