Uramu tomo kou tomo ikaga kumoi yori harukeki hito o sora ni shirubeki - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

怨むとも恋ふともいかが雲居より
はるけき人をそらに知るべき

Roma-ji: Uramu tomo kou tomo ikaga kumoi yori harukeki hito o sora ni shirubeki
English Translation: Though you reproach me,
though you long for me, how could I
from beyond the clouds
know the heart of one so far
by guessing at the empty sky
Meaning: You say you reproach me, you say you long for me, but how could I know, by mere guessing, the heart of one who is farther away than the clouds?
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems VI 998

Headnote: "Reply."
The reply asks how, whether reproached or longed for, she could know by guesswork the heart of one farther away than the clouds. Taking up "uramuredo kouredo" from the preceding poem, she retorts that words alone cannot reveal the true heart of someone so distant.
According to the headnote, it is the woman's reply to the preceding poem, 997. Where he blamed her for a face of not knowing, she answers that it is not that she does not know but that she cannot know, so the exchange meshes through the word "know."
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Uramu tomo," means "though you reproach me," taking up "uramuredo" in the first line of the preceding poem.
The second line, "kou tomo ikaga," means "though you long for me, how," with "ikaga" rhetorical and answered by "beki" in the last line.
The third line, "kumoi yori," means "than the sky of clouds," a figure for great distance. In this book 1025 and 1026 also use "kumoi" for a parted love.
The fourth line, "harukeki hito o," means "one who is far away," pointing to a lover whose heart is distant.
The last line, "sora ni shirubeki," means "could I know by guessing," with "sora" joining the sky and groundless conjecture, an associated word with "kumoi" in the third line. It answers "shirazugao" in the preceding poem with the word "know."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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