Awanu ma ni koishiki michi mo shirinishi o nado ureshiki ni mayou kokoro zo - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

逢はぬ間に恋しき道も知りにしを
などうれしきに迷ふ心ぞ

Roma-ji: Awanu ma ni koishiki michi mo shirinishi o nado ureshiki ni mayou kokoro zo
English Translation: While we were apart,
the road of longing I learned
and came to know it,
so why in all this gladness
should my heart now lose its way
Meaning: While we were apart, I came to know well the road of longing; so why is it that my heart loses its way in this gladness?
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems II 1161

Headnote: "When I had not seen a friend for a long time, going to meet him and composing this."
The poet says that while apart he came to know the road of longing well, so why should his heart lose its way in gladness? Reunited with a long-absent friend, he expresses the depth of his joy by saying that, though used to longing, he does not know what to do with the gladness of meeting and his heart is thrown into disorder.
According to the headnote, he went to meet a friend he had not seen for a long time and composed this.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Awanu ma ni," means "while we did not meet."
The second line, "koishiki michi mo," means "the road of longing too," likening longing to a road, in keeping with "mayou," to stray, in the fourth line.
The third line, "shirinishi o," means "I came to know it, and yet," with "o" adversative.
The fourth line, "nado ureshiki ni," means "why, in gladness," with "nado" an interrogative adverb.
The last line, "mayou kokoro zo," means "does my heart lose its way," with "zo" an emphatic final particle. It closes with "mayou," in keeping with the road.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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