Wakareji wa wataseru hashi mo naki mono o ika de ka tsune ni koiwataru beki - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

別れ路は渡せる橋もなきものを
いかでか常に恋ひわたるべき

Roma-ji: Wakareji wa wataseru hashi mo naki mono o ika de ka tsune ni koiwataru beki
English Translation: On the road of parting
there is no bridge stretched across,
so how could I go
on always longing for you,
crossing over all the while?
Meaning: On the road of parting there is no bridge laid across, so how could I go on longing for you forever, as though crossing over?
Commentary: Book Six Parting Poems 318

Headnote: "On holding a farewell party when Kanemori was going down as Governor of Suruga"
The poet asks how he could go on longing for his friend forever when no bridge spans the road of parting. Finding in the "wataru" of "koiwataru" an association with bridges, he laments a distance with no bridge to cross. According to the headnote, it was composed at a farewell party when Taira no Kanemori was going down to his province as Governor of Suruga.
The author, written as Minamoto no Shitagō in kana, is Minamoto no Shitagō. Of the Saga Genji line, he took part in compiling the Gosenshū and in reading the Man'yōshū as one of the Five Men of the Pear Chamber. He is also known for compiling the dictionary Wamyō Ruijushō and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "wakareji wa," means "on the road of parting."
Second line, "wataseru hashi mo," means "nor any bridge laid across," with "ru" an auxiliary of continuing state. Taking up the Eight Bridges of 317, the preceding poem, bridge poems continue.
Third line, "naki mono o," means "though there is none," with "mono o" expressing concession.
Fourth line, "ika de ka tsune ni," means "how, always," with "ka" a rhetorical questioning particle.
Final line, "koiwataru beki," means "could I go on longing," laying on "wataru" both crossing a bridge and continuing, a rhetorical question with "ka" resolved by the attributive "beki." It shares the same play on words with "omoiwataran" in the preceding poem, forming a pair.
Author: Minamoto no Shitagō
Source: Shui Wakashu
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