Yama no ha ni kakaru omoi no taezaraba kumoi nagara mo aware to omowan - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

山の端にかかる思ひの絶えざらば
雲居ながらもあはれと思はん

Roma-ji: Yama no ha ni kakaru omoi no taezaraba kumoi nagara mo aware to omowan
English Translation: If this longing
that clings like clouds upon
the mountain rim never fails,
then though as far as the clouds,
I will still hold you dear
Meaning: If this longing of mine, clinging like clouds upon the mountain's rim, does not fade, then even from as far away as the clouds, I will go on thinking of you with love.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems III 763

Headnote: "When she heard that the man who had been sending her letters was likely to turn elsewhere."
The poet says that if this longing, clinging like clouds to the mountain rim, does not end, she will think of him tenderly even from afar. To a man she hears may give his heart to another, she says that if her love endures she will go on cherishing him from a distance.
According to the headnote, the poem was composed when she heard that the man who had been writing to her was likely to turn his heart elsewhere.
The poet, listed as "Fujiwara no Matada ga imōto," was a younger sister of Fujiwara no Matada, and little is known of her life.

The first line, "Yama no ha ni," means "on the mountain's rim."
In the second line, "kakaru omoi no," "kakaru" is a pivot word meaning both clouds "clinging" to the rim and "such as this."
The third line, "taezaraba," means "if it does not fail."
The fourth line, "kumoi nagara mo," means "though as far as the clouds," a word associated with "yama no ha" in the first line.
The last line, "aware to omowan," means "I will hold you dear," with "n" expressing intention.
Author: Sister of Fujiwara no Matada
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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