Hedatekeru hito no kokoro no ukihashi o ayauki made mo fumimitsuru kana - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

隔てける人の心のうきはしを
危ふきまでもふみ見つるかな

Roma-ji: Hedatekeru hito no kokoro no ukihashi o ayauki made mo fumimitsuru kana
English Translation: The floating bridge
of one whose heart was walled from me,
to the perilous point
I have trodden it, and read
the letter that was hidden there
Meaning: I have trodden the floating bridge of a heart that kept its distance from me, all the way to the perilous point—and read the letter it hid.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1122

Headnote: "Written by the first wife on seeing that her husband had hidden a letter from a woman."
The poet says that she has trodden the floating bridge of a heart that kept its distance from her, all the way to the point of danger. Finding a letter from another woman that her husband had hidden, she lets "fumi" mean both treading a bridge and a letter, and laments their precarious marriage as a floating bridge.
According to the headnote, the first wife wrote this on seeing that her husband had hidden a letter from a woman.
The poet is recorded as the Daughter of the Shijō Miyasudokoro and appears to be the daughter of a woman so called, but little more is known of her.

The first line, "Hedatekeru," means "that kept its distance," referring to the husband's heart that hid things from her.
The second line, "hito no kokoro no," means "of that person's heart."
The third line, "ukihashi o," means "the floating bridge," an unsteady bridge of boats laid across water, with "uki" echoing "uki," sorrowful.
The fourth line, "ayauki made mo," means "even to the perilous point," speaking, in keeping with the floating bridge, of how precarious the marriage is.
The last line, "fumimitsuru kana," means "I have tried treading it," with "fumi" joining treading the bridge and "fumi," the letter her husband hid. "Kana" is exclamatory.
Author: Daughter of the Shijō Miyasudokoro
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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