Na nomi shite au koto nami no shigeki ma ni itsu ka tamamo o ama wa kazukan - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

名のみして逢ふことなみの繁きまに
いつか玉藻を海人はかづかん

Roma-ji: Na nomi shite au koto nami no shigeki ma ni itsu ka tamamo o ama wa kazukan
English Translation: Meeting in name only,
with no chance to meet, while waves
rise thick and fast,
when could the fisher ever
dive for the jeweled weeds
Meaning: It is "meeting" in name only, with no chance to meet, and while the waves rise so thickly, when could any fisher dive for jewel-like seaweed?
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems III 773

Headnote: "Reply."
In this reply the poet asks when, while there is meeting in name only and the waves rise thick, the fisher could ever dive for seaweed. She answers that amid the endless waves of watchful eyes and rumor, she cannot even send word.
It is the reply to the preceding poem, 772.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Na nomi shite," means "in name only," taking up how "ōmi" in the preceding poem bears the name "au mi," one who meets, yet allows no meeting.
In the second line, "au koto nami no," "nami" is a pivot word meaning both "nami," there being no meeting, and "nami," waves.
The third line, "shigeki ma ni," means "while they rise thick," overlaying the crowded waves with many eyes and rumors.
The fourth line, "itsu ka tamamo o," means "when, the jewel-like weed," with "ka" a rhetorical particle. It takes up "tamamo o sae ya" in the fourth line of the preceding poem.
The last line, "ama wa kazukan," means "could the fisher dive for," taking up "ama wa kazukanu" in the last line of the preceding poem and closing on the attributive "n" in answer to "ka" in the fourth line, a kakarimusubi pattern.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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