Kimi mizute ikuyo henuran toshitsuki no furu to tomo ni mo otsuru namida ka - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

君見ずて幾世経ぬらん年月の
経るとともにも落つる涙か

Roma-ji: Kimi mizute ikuyo henuran toshitsuki no furu to tomo ni mo otsuru namida ka
English Translation: Not seeing you,
how many ages have gone by—
as months and years
pass on and on, together
fall these tears of mine
Meaning: How many ages have passed without my seeing you? With every passing month and year, my tears keep falling.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems IV 847

Headnote: "Sent to someone who wrote after many months and years."
The poet asks how many ages have passed without seeing the other, and says that tears fall as the months and years go by. The long years spent without meeting and the tears that flow along with them are layered together in lament.
According to the headnote, the poem was sent to someone who wrote after many years.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Kimi mizute," means "not seeing you."
The second line, "ikuyo henuran," means "how many ages have passed," with "ran" a conjecture about the present. The poem pauses here.
The third line, "toshitsuki no," means "as the months and years."
The fourth line, "furu to tomo ni mo," means "along with their passing," "furu," to pass, also echoing "furu," the falling of tears.
The last line, "otsuru namida ka," means "how my tears fall," with "ka" expressing emotion.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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