Hito shirenu omoi wa toshi mo henikeredo ware nomi shiru wa kai nakarikeri - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

人知れぬ思ひは年も経にけれど
我のみ知るはかひなかりけり

Roma-ji: Hito shirenu omoi wa toshi mo henikeredo ware nomi shiru wa kai nakarikeri
English Translation: My love, known to none,
has passed through the years till now,
and yet I have found
there's no worth in a longing
that I alone come to know.
Meaning: My love, unknown to anyone, has gone on through the years, yet it is worth nothing when I alone know of it.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems I 673

Headnote: "Sent to a woman"
The poem says that the poet's love, unknown to anyone, has gone on through the years, but it is worthless when he alone knows of it. The headnote shows that Fujiwara no Saneyori sent it to a woman. At last he confesses a love long kept hidden, wishing her to know of it. Taking up "hito shirenu kokoro no uchi" of the preceding poem, 672, it laments that a hidden love means nothing unless it reaches the beloved.
The author, written as "Ono no Miya Chancellor," is Fujiwara no Saneyori. The eldest son of the Regent Fujiwara no Tadahira, he rose to Regent and Chancellor and founded the Ono no Miya line. His posthumous title is Lord Seishin.

First line, "hito shirenu," means "unknown to others," the same line as the first line of the preceding poem, 672.
Second line, "omoi wa toshi mo," means "my love, the years too."
Third line, "henikeredo," means "though they have passed," singing, like the third line of 633, "toshi fureba," of a love that has lasted through the years.
Fourth line, "ware nomi shiru wa," means "that I alone know of it."
Final line, "kai nakarikeri," means "is worth nothing, I see," with "keri" expressing a sigh of realization.
Author: Fujiwara no Saneyori
Source: Shui Wakashu
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