Akekure no sora ni zo ware wa mayoinuru omou kokoro no yukanu ma ni ma ni - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

明け暮れの空にぞ我は迷ひぬる
思ふ心のゆかぬまにまに

Roma-ji: Akekure no sora ni zo ware wa mayoinuru omou kokoro no yukanu ma ni ma ni
English Translation: In the sky between
the dawn and dusk I lose my way,
wandering alone,
with a heart that loves you still
and will not go, unsatisfied.
Meaning: Under a sky that is neither dawn nor dusk, I have lost my way, my heart that loves you unsatisfied, my steps unwilling to go.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 736

Headnote: "Sent after returning in the dark from a woman's house"
The poem says that under the dark sky before dawn the poet has lost his way, his heart that loves her still unsatisfied. The headnote shows it was sent after he returned from a woman's house while it was still dark. Overlaying in "yukanu" a heart that is not satisfied and steps that will not go, it describes how, reluctant to leave, his heart finds no peace and he strays even on the road home.
The author, written as "Shitagau," is Minamoto no Shitagō. Of the Saga Genji line, he took part, as one of the Five Men of the Pear Chamber, in compiling the Gosenshū and in reading the Man'yōshū, and he compiled the dictionary Wamyō Ruijushō. He is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "akekure no," means "between dawn and dusk," the dark hour before daybreak.
Second line, "sora ni zo ware wa," means "under the sky, I," with "sora" also echoing a heart gone absent. The binding particle "zo" is resolved by the attributive "nuru" in the third line.
Third line, "mayoinuru," means "have lost my way," and the poem breaks after this third line.
Fourth line, "omou kokoro no," means "my heart that loves you."
Final line, "yukanu ma ni ma ni," is a pivot word: "yuka" means "yuku," for the heart to be satisfied, and "yuku," to go along a road, giving "still unsatisfied, my steps unwilling to go."
Author: Minamoto no Shitagō
Source: Shui Wakashu
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