Ne ni nakeba hitowarae nari kuretake no yo ni henu o dani kachinu to omowan - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

音に泣けば人笑へなりくれ竹の
よに経ぬをだに勝ちぬと思はん

Roma-ji: Ne ni nakeba hitowarae nari kuretake no yo ni henu o dani kachinu to omowan
English Translation: If I weep aloud
I'll be laughed at by the world—
like the black bamboo
not yet joined in life with him,
let me count that much my win
Meaning: If I weep aloud, I will only be laughed at. Let me at least count it my victory that, like the joints of bamboo, she has not yet shared her life with another.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems V 907

Headnote: "Sent on hearing that a woman's heart was likely to change."
The poet says that weeping aloud would only make him a laughingstock, so let him at least count it a victory that she has not yet joined her life to another man. He voices his lingering attachment and chagrin toward a woman whose heart seems about to change, with a touch of bravado.
According to the headnote, he sent it on hearing that the woman's heart was likely to change. Like the preceding poem, 906, it speaks of "yo ni henu" through the joints of bamboo, so two poems by men outdone by a rival stand together.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Ne ni nakeba," means "if I weep aloud."
The second line, "hitowarae nari," means "I will be a laughingstock," and the poem pauses here.
The third line, "kuretake no," means "like the black bamboo," leading to "yo," the joint of the stem. It corresponds to "nayotake no" in the preceding poem.
The fourth line, "yo ni henu o dani," means "at least that she has not yet shared her life," with "yo" joining the bamboo joint and the world of love. It uses the same phrase as the fourth line of the preceding poem.
The last line, "kachinu to omowan," means "I will think I have won," with "n," a form of "mu," expressing intention.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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