Fuchi tote mo tanomi ya wa suru amanogawa toshi ni hitotabi wataru chō se o - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

淵とても頼みやはする天の川
年に一度渡るてふ瀬を

Roma-ji: Fuchi tote mo tanomi ya wa suru amanogawa toshi ni hitotabi wataru chō se o
English Translation: Deep pool though it be,
how could I put trust in it,
River of Heaven,
with its shallows, so they say,
crossed only once in a year
Meaning: Deep pool or not, how could I rely on it? The River of Heaven is crossed, they say, at its shallows only once a year.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems V 958

Headnote: "Reply."
The woman asks how she could rely on it even if it is a deep pool, since the River of Heaven is crossed at its shallows only once a year. Even if asked to trust a deep pool, she says it cannot be depended on, for the two stars of the River of Heaven meet only once a year, and so she dismisses his words.
It is the reply to the preceding poem, 957. Taking up its pool, River of Heaven and shallows just as they are, she answers his vow not to speak of shallows by bringing up the shallows crossed once a year, turning his own words against him.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Fuchi tote mo," means "even if it is a deep pool," taking up "fuchi" in the last line of the preceding poem.
The second line, "tanomi ya wa suru," means "would I rely on it? never," with "ya wa" a rhetorical binding particle closed by the attributive "suru." The poem pauses here.
The third line, "amanogawa," means "the River of Heaven," the same as the third line of the preceding poem.
The fourth line, "toshi ni hitotabi," means "only once a year," drawing on the Tanabata meeting.
The last line, "wataru chō se o," means "its shallows where, they say, it is crossed," with "chō" a contraction of "to iu." It takes up "se" from the preceding poem, giving the reason for the second line in inverted order.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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