Yume no goto nado ka yoru shimo kimi o mimu kururu matsu ma mo sadame naki yo o - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

夢のごとなどか夜しも君を見む
暮るる待つ間も定めなき世を

Roma-ji: Yume no goto nado ka yoru shimo kimi o mimu kururu matsu ma mo sadame naki yo o
English Translation: Why, as in a dream,
should I see you only
when the night has come,
in a world so uncertain
even while I wait for dusk?
Meaning: Why must I see you only by night, as in a dream, in a world so uncertain that even the time of waiting for dusk is not assured?
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 734

Headnote: "For a poetry contest in the Tenryaku era"
The poem asks why, as in a dream, the poet must see the beloved only by night, in a world so uncertain that even the time of waiting for dusk is not assured. The headnote shows it was composed for a poetry contest held in the Tenryaku reign of Emperor Murakami. Protesting that meetings are confined to the night by invoking the uncertainty of human life, it expresses an urgent wish to meet by day as well. Where 725 said that dusk is longed for because one meets at night, this poem says that even the wait for dusk is too much to spare. Together with the next poem, 735, poems from the Tenryaku contest stand side by side.
The author, written as "Tadami," is Mibu no Tadami. A son of Mibu no Tadamine, one of the compilers of the Kokinshū, he was of low rank but excelled at poetry and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "yume no goto," means "as in a dream," drawing on the fact that dreams come at night.
Second line, "nado ka yoru shimo," means "why only at night," with "nado ka" interrogative and "shimo" emphatic. The binding particle "ka" is resolved by the attributive "mu" in the third line. It shares a love that can meet only at night with the third line of 725 in this book, "yoru shi aeba."
Third line, "kimi o mimu," means "should I see you," and the poem breaks after this third line.
Fourth line, "kururu matsu ma mo," means "even while waiting for dusk," using the same words as the second line of 722 in this book, "kure o matsu ma no."
Final line, "sadame naki yo o," means "in a world so uncertain," with "o" concessive, giving in inverted order the reason for the question in the third line.
Author: Mibu no Tadami
Source: Shui Wakashu
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