Aware chō koto ni nagusamu yo no naka o nado ka mukashi to iite suguran - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

あはれてふ事に慰む世の中を
などか昔と言ひて過ぐらん

Roma-ji: Aware chō koto ni nagusamu yo no naka o nado ka mukashi to iite suguran
English Translation: In a world consoled
by the single word "how dear,"
why, I wonder,
do we only speak of "long ago"
as we let the days go by
Meaning: In this world, where we find comfort in the single word "aware," why is it that we pass our days only saying how much better things were long ago?
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems II 1192

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet asks why, in a world where people are consoled by the word "aware," they pass their days only longing for the past. Noting that the present too has its moving and consoling moments, the poet wonders at the heart that always turns to nostalgia. Interpretations of the poem's meaning differ in places.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Aware chō," means "called 'aware,'" the same line as the first line of 1179 in this book. It also echoes "aware to mo" in the first line of the preceding poem.
The second line, "koto ni nagusamu," means "consoled by the word."
The third line, "yo no naka o," means "this world, and yet," with "o" carrying an adversative sense.
The fourth line, "nado ka mukashi to," means "why 'long ago,'" with "ka" an interrogative binding particle closed by the attributive "ran" in the last line.
The last line, "iite suguran," means "do we pass the days saying," with "ran" conjecture about a present cause, closing the "ka" of the fourth line.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
Prev Poem: Aware to mo ushi to mo iwaji kagerō no aru ka naki ka ni kenuru yo nareba
Next Poem: Mono omou to yukite mo mineba takakata no ama no tomaya wa kuchi ya shinuran