Kakiyaraba nigori koso seme asaki se no mikuzu wa tare ka sumasete mo mimu - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

かきやらば濁りこそせめ浅き瀬の
水屑は誰かすませても見む

Roma-ji: Kakiyaraba nigori koso seme asaki se no mikuzu wa tare ka sumasete mo mimu
English Translation: If you stir it up,
it will only cloud the more;
the debris that floats
in a shallow stream, who would
clear it and let it dwell here?
Meaning: If you stir it, it will only grow muddier; who would ever clear the debris of a shallow stream, and let such as you come to dwell?
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems I 671

Headnote: "Reply"
The poem retorts that stirring the water will only make it muddier, and asks who would ever clear the debris of a shallow stream and let such a man dwell there. The headnote shows it is the reply to the preceding poem, 670. Taking up that poem's pivots, "kakiyaru" and "sumu," as they are, it firmly rejects him: letters will only cloud her heart, and no one would welcome so shallow a suitor.

First line, "kakiyaraba," is a pivot word: "kakiyara" means "stirring" water and "writing" a letter, taking up the fourth line of the preceding poem, 670, "nao kakiyaramu."
Second line, "nigori koso seme," means "it may well grow muddy," with the binding particle "koso" resolved by "me," the perfective form of the conjectural "mu," continuing on in a concessive sense.
Third line, "asaki se no," means "of a shallow stream," hinting at the shallowness of his heart.
Fourth line, "mikuzu wa tare ka," means "who would, the debris," with the binding particle "ka" rhetorical and resolved by the attributive "mu" in the final line.
Final line, "sumasete mo mimu," is a pivot word: "sumase" means "clearing" water and "letting dwell" a man who visits. It takes up the final line of the preceding poem, "sate wa sumu ya to."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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