Au koto o matsu nite toshi no henuru kana mi wa Suminoe ni oinu mono yue - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

逢ふことをまつにて年の経ぬるかな
身は住の江に生ひぬものゆゑ

Roma-ji: Au koto o matsu nite toshi no henuru kana mi wa Suminoe ni oinu mono yue
English Translation: Waiting like the pine
for the day when we might meet,
the years have gone by,
though I am no tree that grows
on the shore of Suminoe.
Meaning: Waiting only for our meeting, I have let the years go by, though I am no pine growing on the shore of Suminoe.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems I 626

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown"
The poem says that the poet has let the years go by waiting to meet the beloved, though he is no pine growing at Suminoe. Pivoting "matsu," pine, the famous sight of Suminoe, on "matsu," to wait, it laments having waited through long years like a pine. It expresses the pain of a waiting love, with no choice but to wait like a pine though one is no pine.

First line, "au koto o," means "for our meeting," the same line as the first lines of 680 and 681, "au koto o."
Second line, "matsu nite toshi no," is a pivot word: "matsu" means both "to wait" and "pine," meaning "while I waited, the years."
Third line, "henuru kana," means "how they have passed," with "nuru" the attributive form of the perfective "nu" and "kana" exclamatory. The poem breaks after this third line.
Fourth line, "mi wa Suminoe ni," means "I, at Suminoe," a poetic place in Settsu Province famous for its pines.
Final line, "oinu mono yue," means "though I do not grow there," with "mono yue" concessive. It returns in inverted order to the third line.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
Prev Poem: Nageki amari tsui ni iro ni zo idenu beki iwanu o hito no shiraba koso arame
Next Poem: Oto ni kiku hito ni kokoro o Tsukubane no minedo koishiki kimi ni mo aru kana