Asukagawa sekite todomuru mono naraba fuchise ni naru to nani ka iwasen - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

飛鳥川せきてとどむるものならば
淵瀬になると何か言はせん

Roma-ji: Asukagawa sekite todomuru mono naraba fuchise ni naru to nani ka iwasen
English Translation: If the Asuka River
could be dammed and held
from running on,
how would I ever let them say
its pools turn into shallows
Meaning: If the Asuka River could be dammed and held still, why would I ever let anyone say that its deep pools turn into shallows?
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems III 752

Headnote: "Reply."
In this reply the poet says that if the Asuka River could be dammed and held, he would never let anyone speak of pools turning into shallows. Saying that if he could stop the changing flow he would let no one speak of a changing heart, he tries to dispel her fears.
It is the reply to the preceding poem, 751, and the third of the poems on the Asuka River that began with 750 in this book.
The poet, called "the Posthumous Chancellor," was Fujiwara no Tokihira. The eldest son of Regent Fujiwara no Mototsune, he rose to Minister of the Left and was posthumously named Chancellor. He is known for having Sugawara no Michizane banished to Dazaifu.

The first line, "Asukagawa," takes up "asukagawa" in the fourth line of the preceding poem, the river standing for all that changes.
The second line, "sekite todomuru," means "dam it and hold it."
The third line, "mono naraba," means "if it were possible."
The fourth line, "fuchise ni naru to," means "that pools become shallows," drawing, like "fuchi wa se ni" in the first line of 750 in this book, on the changeable course of the Asuka River.
The last line, "nani ka iwasen," means "why would I let them say," with "ka" a rhetorical particle closing on the attributive "n," a kakarimusubi pattern.
Author: Fujiwara no Tokihira
Source: Gosen Wakashu
Prev Poem: Itowaruru mi o urewashimi itsushika to asukagawa o mo tanomu beranari
Next Poem: Ashitazu no sawabe ni toshi wa henuredomo kokoro wa kumo no ue ni nomi koso