Otonashi no kawa to zo tsui ni nagarekeru iwade mono omou hito no watari wa - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

音無の川とぞつひに流れける
言はで物思ふ人の渡りは

Roma-ji: Otonashi no kawa to zo tsui ni nagarekeru iwade mono omou hito no watari wa
English Translation: As Otonashi's
soundless river it has flowed
at last, so it seems,
the crossing of one who broods
never speaking of the love.
Meaning: At last it has flowed on as the soundless Otonashi River, the crossing of one who broods without a word.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 750

Headnote: "Sent to a woman he was courting in secret"
The poem says that the crossing of one who broods in silence has at last flowed on as the Otonashi River, the soundless river. The headnote shows it was sent to a woman the poet was courting in secret. It likens a love endured without a word to the Otonashi River, which flows without a sound. The poem is generally known with the final line "hito no namida wa," in which the tears of one who loves without speaking have flowed on as the Otonashi River. Taking up the village of Otonashi in the preceding poem, 749, it sings of the Otonashi River, and it shares the line "iwade mono omou" with the next poem, 751.
The author, written as "Motosuke," is Kiyohara no Motosuke. The father of Sei Shōnagon, he took part in compiling the Gosenshū as one of the Five Men of the Pear Chamber. He is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.
The final line of the main text reads "hito no watari wa," which does not match "hito no namida wa" in the reading line. Here the main text is followed.

First line, "Otonashi no," means "of the Otonashi River" in Kii, taking up the final line of the preceding poem, 749, "Otonashi no sato."
Second line, "kawa to zo tsui ni," means "at last as a river," with the binding particle "zo" resolved by the attributive "keru" in the third line.
Third line, "nagarekeru," means "it has flowed," and the poem breaks after this third line.
Fourth line, "iwade mono omou," means "who broods without speaking," the same line as the fourth line of the next poem, 751, "iwade mono omou."
Final line, "hito no watari wa," means "the crossing of one," giving the subject in inverted order. The reading line has "hito no namida wa," in which the tears of one who loves in silence flow on as a river.
Author: Kiyohara no Motosuke
Source: Shui Wakashu
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