Sekimori ga aratamaru chō ausaka no yūtsukedori wa nakitsutsu zo yuku - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

関守が改まるてふ逢坂の
木綿付け鳥は鳴きつつぞ行く

Roma-ji: Sekimori ga aratamaru chō ausaka no yūtsukedori wa nakitsutsu zo yuku
English Translation: At Ausaka,
where they say the barrier guard
has now been replaced,
the bark-cloth bird, as it goes,
can do nothing but cry out
Meaning: At Ausaka, where they say the barrier guard has been replaced, I pass on like the bark-cloth bird, weeping as I go.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems V 982

Headnote: "Reply."
The poet says that at Ausaka, where the barrier guard is said to have been replaced, he passes on like the bark-cloth bird, weeping as he goes. Calling the woman's new lover a change of barrier guard, he laments that he himself departs crying like the bark-cloth bird.
It is the reply to the preceding poem, 981, answered by the former husband. Taking up its Ausaka, he overlays the change of barrier guard with the woman's change of heart.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Sekimori ga," means "the barrier guard," standing for the man now at the woman's side.
The second line, "aratamaru chō," means "is said to have been replaced," with "chō" a contraction of "to iu." It tells that she has a new lover.
The third line, "ausaka no," means "of Ausaka," the same as the third line of the preceding poem.
The fourth line, "yūtsukedori wa," means "the bark-cloth bird," another name for the cock, standing for the poet himself.
The last line, "nakitsutsu zo yuku," means "goes on crying," with "naki," the bird's cry, overlaid with weeping. "Zo" is an emphatic binding particle closed by the attributive "yuku."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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