Koto no ha wa nagenaru mono to iinagara omowanu tame wa kimi mo shiruran - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

言の葉はなげなるものと言ひながら
思はぬためは君も知るらん

Roma-ji: Koto no ha wa nagenaru mono to iinagara omowanu tame wa kimi mo shiruran
English Translation: Words, so it is said,
are leaves that count for little,
and yet even so,
for one I do not care for—
surely you too know the truth
Meaning: People say that words are flimsy things, and yet surely you know as well as I that one does not send them to someone one does not care for.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems IV 827

Headnote: "Sent to someone."
The poet says that though people say words are flimsy things, the beloved surely knows that one does not send them to someone one does not care for. To someone who will not trust words alone, he insists that the very act of sending them is proof of his sincerity.
According to the headnote, the poem was sent to a certain person.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us. The text gives the poet as "yomibito mo," indicating that the poem is anonymous.

The first line, "Koto no ha wa," means "words."
The second line, "nagenaru mono to," means "that they are unreliable things," "nagenaru" meaning careless or offhand.
The third line, "iinagara," means "though people say so," expressing contrast.
The fourth line, "omowanu tame wa," means "for one I do not love."
The last line, "kimi mo shiruran," means "you too must know," with "ran" a conjecture about the present.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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