Yūsareba omoi zo shigeki matsu hito no komu ya koji ya no sadame nakereba - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

夕されば思ひぞ繁き待つ人の
来むや来じやの定めなければ

Roma-ji: Yūsareba omoi zo shigeki matsu hito no komu ya koji ya no sadame nakereba
English Translation: When evening comes on
my thoughts grow thick and tangled,
for of the one I wait for,
will he come or will he not,
there is nothing certain
Meaning: As evening comes on, my thoughts grow thick, for there is no telling whether the one I wait for will come or not.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems VI 1062

Headnote: "To someone who had given her hope."
The poet says that as evening comes her thoughts grow thick, since it is uncertain whether the one she waits for will come. She conveys the wavering of a heart waiting at dusk for one who promised to come, repeating "will he come, will he not."
According to the headnote, she sent it to someone who had led her to expect him. 1055 in this book is likewise a poem of waiting for one who said he would come and did not.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Yūsareba," means "when evening comes," with "saru" meaning the approach of a time.
The second line, "omoi zo shigeki," means "my thoughts are thick," closing the binding particle "zo" with the attributive "shigeki." The poem pauses here.
The third line, "matsu hito no," means "of the one I wait for."
The fourth line, "komu ya koji ya no," means "whether he will come or not," pairing "mu" and "ji" to show the wavering heart.
The last line, "sadame nakereba," means "since nothing is certain," turning back to the second line by inversion.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
Prev Poem: Yo no naka no uki wa nabete mo nakarikeri tanomu kagiri zo uramirarekeru
Next Poem: Itowarete kaeri koshiji no shirayama wa iranu ni mayou mono ni zo arikeru