Sadame naku narunaru uri no tsura mite mo tachi ya yorikomu Koma no sukimono - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

定めなくなるなる瓜のつら見ても
立ちや寄り来む狛のすき者

Roma-ji: Sadame naku narunaru uri no tsura mite mo tachi ya yorikomu Koma no sukimono
English Translation: Seeing the vines
of melons ripening on and on
with no settled form,
would he stop and come to call,
that gallant man of Koma?
Meaning: Even seeing the vines of melons ripening one after another without end, or that face of yours, would the gallant of Koma stop by and come to call?
Commentary: Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems II 558

Headnote: "In reply"
The poet replies by asking whether the gallant of Koma would stop by on seeing the vines of melons ripening endlessly, or that face. Reproached for a fickle heart in the preceding poem, 557, he takes up the same melon grower of Koma and, pivoting on "tsura," the "vine" of the melon and a "face," turns it back by asking who would ever stop by for such a one.
The author, Major Counselor Asateru, is Fujiwara no Asateru. A son of the Chancellor Fujiwara no Kanemichi, he rose to Major Counselor, and his personal collection is the Asateru-shū.

First line, "sadame naku," means "without settling," taking up the fourth line of the preceding poem, 557, "to nari kaku nari."
Second line, "narunaru uri no," means "of melons ripening on and on," taking up the sounds "nari" and "naru" of the preceding poem just as they are.
Third line, "tsura mite mo," is a pivot word: "tsura" means the "vine" of the melon and a "face."
Fourth line, "tachi ya yorikomu," means "would he stop and call," with the binding particle "ya" expressing a question, resolved by the attributive form of the conjectural auxiliary "mu."
Final line, "Koma no sukimono," means "the gallant of Koma," taking up the second line of the preceding poem, 557, "Koma no watari no." It ends on a noun, giving the subject in inverted order.
Author: Fujiwara no Asateru
Source: Shui Wakashu
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