Ware nagara sa mo modokashiki kokoro kana omowanu hito wa nani ka koishiki - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

我ながらさももどかしき心かな
思はぬ人はなにか恋しき

Roma-ji: Ware nagara sa mo modokashiki kokoro kana omowanu hito wa nani ka koishiki
English Translation: Even I myself
find it a most vexing heart,
this heart of mine:
why should I long for someone
who has no thought of me?
Meaning: How vexing a heart this is, even to me: why should I long for someone who does not care for me?
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 759

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poem says that the poet finds his own heart vexing, for why should he long for one who does not care for him? Where the preceding poem, 758, resented a cold beloved, this one is irritated with oneself for being unable to give up that cold beloved.

First line, "ware nagara," means "even to myself."
Second line, "sa mo modokashiki," means "so vexing," with "modokashi" meaning frustrating, not going as one wishes.
Third line, "kokoro kana," means "what a heart," and the poem breaks after this third line.
Fourth line, "omowanu hito wa," means "one who does not care for me," taking up the cold beloved of the final line of the preceding poem, 758, "tsurenakaruran."
Final line, "nani ka koishiki," means "why do I long," with the binding particle "ka" resolved by the attributive "koishiki."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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