Koromo o ya nugite yaramashi namida nomi kakarikeri tomo hito no miru beku - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

衣をや脱ぎてやらまし涙のみ
かかりけりとも人の見るべく

Roma-ji: Koromo o ya nugite yaramashi namida nomi kakarikeri tomo hito no miru beku
English Translation: Shall I slip it off,
this robe, and send it to her,
so that she may see
how it has been drenched
with nothing but my tears?
Meaning: Shall I take off this robe and send it to her, so that she may see that nothing but tears has fallen on it?
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 763

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown"
The poem wonders whether the poet should take off his robe and send it, so that the beloved may see that nothing but tears has fallen on it. It expresses the wish to make known the pain of a love that words cannot convey, by showing her the tear-soaked robe itself. Following the Koromo River of the preceding poem, 762, it sings of a robe wet with tears, and it shares the word "kakaru" with the next poem, 764.

First line, "koromo o ya," means "this robe," with the binding particle "ya" resolved by the attributive "mashi" in the second line. It shares the word "koromo" with the fourth line of the preceding poem, 762, "Koromogawa to zo."
Second line, "nugite yaramashi," means "shall I take it off and send it," with "mashi" expressing a hesitant intention. The poem breaks after this second line.
Third line, "namida nomi," means "only tears."
Fourth line, "kakarikeri tomo," means "that they had fallen thus," with "kakari" layering tears "falling" on the robe and "kaku ari," so it was. It is the same word as in the final line of the next poem, 764, "kakaramashi ya wa."
Final line, "hito no miru beku," means "so that she may see," giving in inverted order the reason for the second line.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
Prev Poem: Tamoto yori otsuru namida wa Michinoku no Koromogawa to zo iu bekarikeru
Next Poem: Hitome o mo tsutsumanu mono to omoiseba sode no namida no kakaramashi ya wa