Yo no naka o Sumiyoshi to shimo omowanu ni nani o matsu tote waga mi henu ran - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

世の中を住吉としも思はぬに
何をまつとて我が身経ぬらん

Roma-ji: Yo no naka o Sumiyoshi to shimo omowanu ni nani o matsu tote waga mi henu ran
English Translation: Though in this world
I never thought to find
that living was good,
what am I waiting for, like a pine,
that I have passed my years?
Meaning: Though I never thought this world a good place to live, what have I been waiting for, like the pines of Sumiyoshi, that I have let the years pass by?
Commentary: Book Eight Miscellaneous Poems I 462

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poet asks what he has been waiting for, that he has let the years go by, though he never thought this world a good place to live. Joining "Sumiyoshi" with "sumi yoshi," good to live in, and "matsu" with both pine and waiting, he laments, through the pines of Sumiyoshi, a self that has grown old without hope. Taking up the pines of Sumiyoshi in 456 of this book, it turns the pine, a symbol of long life, into a lament for one who waits in vain.

First line, "yo no naka o," means "this world."
Second line, "Sumiyoshi to shimo," means "that it is good to live in," joining "Sumiyoshi" with "sumi yoshi." "Shimo" is an emphatic particle.
Third line, "omowanu ni," means "though I do not think," with "ni" a concessive particle.
Fourth line, "nani o matsu tote," means "waiting for what." "Matsu" is a pivot word joining the pines of Sumiyoshi and "to wait," tying it to Sumiyoshi in the second line.
Final line, "waga mi henu ran," means "have I passed my years," with "nu" perfective and "ran" an auxiliary conjecturing a cause. The lament of a self passing the years carries on into "yo ni furu" in the next poem, 463.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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