Sasagani no sora ni sugakeru ito yori mo kokorobososhi ya taenu to omoeba - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

ささがにの空に巣がける糸よりも
心細しや絶えぬと思へば

Roma-ji: Sasagani no sora ni sugakeru ito yori mo kokorobososhi ya taenu to omoeba
English Translation: More forlorn than
the thread the little spider
spins across the sky—
so frail is this heart of mine
when I think the bond is cut
Meaning: More forlorn than the thread a spider spins across the empty air is my heart, when I think that our bond has snapped.
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems IV 1295

Headnote: "Sent to the brother of a man who had grown cold."
The poet says she feels more forlorn than the thread a spider strings in the air, thinking the bond has broken. Likening her tie to a man grown cold to a slender spider thread stretched in the void, she tells his brother of her helplessness.
According to the headnote, she sent it to the brother of a man who had grown cold to her. The next poem is the reply, and the two form an exchange.
The poet is anonymous and the name is not known. The text gives the poet as "yomibito mo," but it is treated here as anonymous.

The first line, "Sasagani no," means "of the spider," a word for the spider and its thread.
The second line, "sora ni sugakeru," means "that spins its web in the air."
The third line, "ito yori mo," means "than its thread."
The fourth line, "kokorobososhi ya," means "how forlorn," with "hososhi," slender, an associated word with thread, and "ya" exclamatory. The poem pauses here, inverted with the last line.
The last line, "taenu to omoeba," means "when I think it is broken," with "tae," to snap, also associated with thread. It is taken up by "taenu to miyuru" in the second line of the next poem.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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