Kaerubeki kata mo oboezu namidagawa izure ka wataru asase naruran - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

帰るべき方もおぼえず涙川
いづれか渡る浅瀬なるらむ

Roma-ji: Kaerubeki kata mo oboezu namidagawa izure ka wataru asase naruran
English Translation: I cannot tell
which way I ought to go home—
this river of tears,
where then is the shallow ford
that I might cross over it
Meaning: I do not know which way to go home. In this river of tears, where is the shallow ford that I might cross?
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems IV 888

Headnote: "When he went to speak with her but Munemochi had arrived before him, and she sent out word that he should go home at once."
The poet says he does not know which way to go home, and asks where in the river of tears there is a shallow ford to cross. Visiting his beloved only to find another man there before him and being sent away, he sings of a grief so great that through his tears he cannot even find the road home.
According to the headnote, he went to talk with her, but "Munemochi" had come first, so she sent word that he should leave quickly. The next poem, 889, is Taifu's reply, and the two form an exchange.
The poet, Ono no Michikaze, was a grandson of Ono no Takamura and a son of Ono no Kuzune. He was renowned as a calligrapher and is counted among the Three Brush Traces.

The first line, "Kaerubeki," means "by which I should return."
The second line, "kata mo oboezu," means "I do not know the way," and the poem pauses here.
The third line, "namidagawa," a river of tears, likens flowing tears to a river. 869 in this book also sings of "namida no kawa," and the next poem, 889, answers by opening with "namidagawa."
The fourth line, "izure ka wataru," means "where can one cross," with "ka" an interrogative binding particle.
The last line, "asase naruran," means "is the shallow ford," closing with the attributive "ran" in answer to "ka" in the fourth line.
Author: Ono no Michikaze
Source: Gosen Wakashu
Prev Poem: Naniwame ni mitsu to wa nashi ni ashi no ne no yo no mijikakute akuru wabishisa
Next Poem: Namidagawa ika naru se yori kaeriken minaruru mio mo ayashikarishi o