Aimite mo wakaruru koto no nakariseba katsugatsu mono wa omowazaramashi - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

あひ見ても別るることのなかりせば
かつがつ物は思はざらまし

Roma-ji: Aimite mo wakaruru koto no nakariseba katsugatsu mono wa omowazaramashi
English Translation: Even if we met,
were there no such thing
as parting after,
then at least a little less
would I sink in brooding thought
Meaning: If only meeting were not followed by parting, I might at least be spared a little of this brooding.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems III 728

Headnote: "Sent when the one he had been close to was about to drift away, since both had reasons for discretion."
The poet says that if there were no parting after meeting, he would at least be spared some of his brooding. He laments, in a contrary-to-fact form, the pain of a love in which every meeting must end in parting.
According to the headnote, the poem was sent when he and the person he had been intimate with were about to be separated, each having reasons to be discreet.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Aimite mo," means "even if we meet."
The second line, "wakaruru koto no," means "the matter of parting."
The third line, "nakariseba," means "if there were not," which pairs with "mashi" in the last line to express a contrary-to-fact supposition.
The fourth line, "katsugatsu mono wa," means "at least a little, brooding."
The last line, "omowazaramashi," means "I would not have to suffer," answering "seba" in the third line.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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