Seki mo aezu fuchi ni zo mayou namidagawa wataru chō se o shiru yoshi mogana - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

塞きもあへず淵にぞ迷ふ涙川
渡るてふ瀬を知るよしもがな

Roma-ji: Seki mo aezu fuchi ni zo mayou namidagawa wataru chō se o shiru yoshi mogana
English Translation: Too strong to be dammed,
lost among the deepest pools,
my river of tears—
if only I knew the shallows
where, they say, it can be crossed
Meaning: My river of tears flows on, too strong to dam, and I am lost in its deep pools. If only I knew of some shallows where, they say, it can be crossed—some chance to meet you.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems V 946

Headnote: "Sent to a woman."
The poet calls to his river of tears, which cannot be dammed and in whose deep pools he is lost, and wishes he knew of shallows where it can be crossed. Likening overflowing tears to a river, he seeks, while lost in its depths, a shallow place to cross, that is, a chance to meet her.
According to the headnote, it was sent to a woman. The next poem, 947, is her reply, taking up the words pool, river of tears and shallows to form an exchange. The river of tears also appears in 949 and 972 in this book, and pools and shallows are used of the River of Heaven in 957 and 958.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Seki mo aezu," means "unable to dam it," "aezu" meaning to be unable to manage.
The second line, "fuchi ni zo mayou," means "lost in the deep pools," with "zo" an emphatic binding particle closed by the attributive "mayou."
The third line, "namidagawa," means "river of tears," likening overflowing tears to a river.
The fourth line, "wataru chō se o," means "the shallows where they say one crosses," with "se," shallows, overlaid with a chance to meet. "Chō" is a contraction of "to iu."
The last line, "shiru yoshi mogana," means "if only I had a way to know," with "mogana" a final particle of desire.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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