Yo no naka o kaku iiii no hatehate wa ika ni ya ika ni naramu to suran - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

世の中をかく言ひ言ひの果て果ては
いかにやいかにならむとすらん

Roma-ji: Yo no naka o kaku iiii no hatehate wa ika ni ya ika ni naramu to suran
English Translation: Of this world we say
this and that, and say again,
and at the very end,
what on earth, what on earth
will it come to in the end?
Meaning: We go on saying this and that about the world, and in the end of all ends, what, oh what, will become of it?
Commentary: Book Eight Miscellaneous Poems I 507

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poet asks what will become of it all at the very end, after people have gone on saying this and that about the world. Through the device of repeating the same words, "ii ii," "hate hate" and "ika ni ya ika ni," it conveys the impermanence of a world beyond words and anxiety over an unforeseeable future. Sharing "yo no naka" with the preceding poem, 506, it leads on to the closing poem, 508.

First line, "yo no naka o," means "this world," sharing words with the first line of the preceding poem, "yo no naka ni."
Second line, "kaku iiii no," means "saying this and that over and over," repeating "ii" to express repetition.
Third line, "hatehate wa," means "at the very end," again repeating the same word.
Fourth line, "ika ni ya ika ni," means "how, oh how," with "ya" a questioning particle, the third repetition.
Final line, "naramu to suran," means "is it going to become," resolving "ya" with the attributive "ran."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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