Utsutsu ni mo yume ni mo hito ni yoru shi aeba kureyuku bakari ureshiki wa nashi - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

現にも夢にも人に夜し逢へば
暮れゆくばかりうれしきはなし

Roma-ji: Utsutsu ni mo yume ni mo hito ni yoru shi aeba kureyuku bakari ureshiki wa nashi
English Translation: Whether awake
or in a dream, it is at night
that I meet my love,
so nothing gives such delight
as the dusk drawing on.
Meaning: Whether in waking or in dreams, it is at night that I meet my love, so nothing is so welcome as the coming of dusk.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 725

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown"
The poem says that since the poet meets the beloved only at night, whether in waking or in dreams, nothing is so welcome as the coming of dusk. Because both real meetings and dream meetings belong to the night, it rejoices above all in the dusk that brings night. Like 722, it sings of delight in dusk, and the next poem, 726, pairs with it by saying that the same dusk cannot be welcomed wholeheartedly for thought of parting at dawn.

First line, "utsutsu ni mo," means "in waking life."
Second line, "yume ni mo hito ni," means "and in dreams, my love," setting waking and dreaming side by side.
Third line, "yoru shi aeba," means "since it is at night I meet her," with "shi" an emphatic particle and "ba" after the perfective form expressing cause.
Fourth line, "kureyuku bakari," means "so much as the falling dusk," sharing the same words with the fourth line of the next poem, 726, "kureyuku sora wa."
Final line, "ureshiki wa nashi," means "nothing is so welcome," pairing with the final line of the next poem, "ureshikaramashi."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
Prev Poem: Momohagaki hane kaku shigi mo waga gotoku ashita wabishiki kazu wa masaraji
Next Poem: Akatsuki no wakare no michi o omowazu wa kureyuku sora wa ureshikaramashi