Tsuyu no inochi oshi to ni wa arazu kimi o mata mide ya to omou zo kanashikarikeru - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

露の命惜しとにはあらず君を又
見でやと思ふぞ悲しかりける

Roma-ji: Tsuyu no inochi oshi to ni wa arazu kimi o mata mide ya to omou zo kanashikarikeru
English Translation: It is not that I
regret this dewdrop life of mine;
rather, that I might
never see you once again—
that thought is what grieves me so.
Meaning: It is not that I grieve for this life, fragile as dew; what saddens me is the thought that I may never see you again.
Commentary: Book Eight Miscellaneous Poems I 501

Headnote: "When I was ill in the provinces and someone sent word from the capital to ask after me"
The poet says that it is not his dewlike life he regrets, but the thought of dying without seeing his friend again that grieves him. The headnote shows it was a reply when, lying ill in the provinces, he received a letter of sympathy from the capital. Grieving less for his own life than for never meeting again the one who asked after him, he conveys his deep regard for the other. Taking up the fleeting morning dew of the preceding poem, 500, he sings of "a dewdrop life," and the next poem, 502, also sings of life.
The author, whose name is written in kana in the original, is Yuge no Yoshitoki. A mid-Heian poet, he later took the Ōe family name and is also called Ōe no Yoshitoki. He is said to have been appointed Governor of Tsushima and to have died at his post. He is counted among the Later Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "tsuyu no inochi," means "a life fragile as dew," six syllables, one too many, taking up the morning dew of the preceding poem.
Second line, "oshi to ni wa arazu," means "it is not that I regret it," eight syllables, one too many. The poem breaks here.
Third line, "kimi o mata," means "you, once again."
Fourth line, "mide ya to omou zo," means "the thought that I may not see you," with "de" a negative conjunctive particle, "ya" a questioning particle and "zo" an emphatic particle.
Final line, "kanashikarikeru," means "is what grieves me," resolving "zo" with the attributive "keru."
Author: Yuge no Yoshitoki
Source: Shui Wakashu
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