Tsuyu bakari nururan sode no kawakanu wa kimi ga omoi no hodo ya sukunaki - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

露ばかり濡るらん袖の乾かぬは
君がおもひのほどや少なき

Roma-ji: Tsuyu bakari nururan sode no kawakanu wa kimi ga omoi no hodo ya sukunaki
English Translation: Wet with but a drop,
the sleeves you say won't dry—
is it not, my dear,
that the fire of your longing
burns too little to dry them
Meaning: If your sleeves, wet with no more than a drop of dew, still will not dry, is it not because the fire of your longing is so small?
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems V 974

Headnote: "Reply."
The reply says that if sleeves wet with no more than a drop of dew will not dry, it must be because the fire of his longing is small. Turning his complaint against him, it teases that the trouble is not too many tears but too weak a fire.
It is the reply to the preceding poem, 973. Taking up its sleeves, not drying and fire of longing just as they are, it answers his complaint of many tears by pointing out how little he loves, turning his own words back on him.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Tsuyu bakari," means "only as much as a drop of dew," denying the abundance of tears in the preceding poem.
The second line, "nururan sode no," means "of sleeves that are wet, perhaps," with "ran," a form of "ramu," a conjecture about the present.
The third line, "kawakanu wa," means "that they do not dry," taking up the words of the preceding poem's last line.
The fourth line, "kimi ga omoi no," means "of your fire of longing," with "hi" in "omoi" joining "hi," fire.
The last line, "hodo ya sukunaki," means "is its strength so small," with "ya" an interrogative binding particle closed by the attributive "sukunaki."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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