Amagumo no ukitaru koto to kikishikado nao zo kokoro wa sora ni narinishi - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

天雲のうきたることと聞きしかど
なほぞ心はそらになりにし

Roma-ji: Amagumo no ukitaru koto to kikishikado nao zo kokoro wa sora ni narinishi
English Translation: Like the clouds of heaven,
a floating, idle tale, I heard,
and yet, for all that,
my heart has drifted up and off
into the empty sky
Meaning: I heard it was an idle tale, drifting like clouds in the heavens, and yet my heart has gone all adrift, lost in the empty sky.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems II 1142

Headnote: "Reply, by the girl's mother."
The poet says that although she heard it was a floating tale like the clouds of heaven, her heart has still gone adrift into the sky. Taking up the sky and clouds of the preceding poem, she expresses a mother's restless heart, worrying about her daughter in far Michinoku even while knowing the rumor may be idle.
It is the girl's mother's reply to the man's poem before it.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us. According to the headnote, she is the girl's mother.

The first line, "Amagumo no," means "of the clouds of heaven," taking up "kumoiji" in the preceding poem.
The second line, "ukitaru koto to," means "as a floating, groundless matter," with "uki" joining the floating of clouds and "uki," sorrowful.
The third line, "kikishikado," means "though I heard it," with "shika" the perfective form of the past "ki" and "do" adversative.
The fourth line, "nao zo kokoro wa," means "still my heart," with "zo" an emphatic binding particle closed by the attributive "shi" in the last line.
The last line, "sora ni narinishi," means "has gone adrift," with "sora" joining the sky and a restless heart, answering "soragoto" in the preceding poem.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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