Itsuka to mo omowanu sawa no ayamegusa tada tsukuzuku to ne koso nakarure - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

いつかとも思はぬ沢のあやめ草
ただつくづくとねこそ泣かるれ

Roma-ji: Itsuka to mo omowanu sawa no ayamegusa tada tsukuzuku to ne koso nakarure
English Translation: Not knowing when, like
the fifth day, in the marsh grows
the iris, long-rooted;
I only, lost in thought,
weep aloud from deep within.
Meaning: On this fifth day I cannot think when we might meet; like the iris in the marsh with its long roots, I can only weep aloud, lost in sorrow.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 767

Headnote: "Sent to a certain woman on the fifth day of the fifth month"
The poem says that the poet, who cannot think when they might meet, can only weep aloud, sunk in sorrow, even on the day of drawing the roots of the iris in the marsh. The headnote shows it was sent to a certain woman on the fifth day of the fifth month, the Iris Festival. Pivoting "itsuka" on "the fifth day" and "when," and "ne" on the iris's "root" and the "sound" of weeping, it expresses the grief of not meeting through the imagery of the festival. Together with the next poem, 768, two poems on the iris stand side by side.

First line, "itsuka to mo," is a pivot word: "itsuka" means "the fifth day" of the fifth month and "when."
Second line, "omowanu sawa no," means "not thinking, of the marsh," voicing that one cannot think when they might meet while leading on to the marsh where the iris grows.
Third line, "ayamegusa," is the iris, which was hung from the eaves and whose roots were compared in length at the festival. Up to here the lines lead into what follows. It is the same line as the third line of the next poem, 768, "ayamegusa."
Fourth line, "tada tsukuzuku to," means "only, lost in sorrow."
Final line, "ne koso nakarure," is a pivot word: "ne" means the iris's "root" and the "sound" of weeping. The binding particle "koso" is resolved by "rure," the perfective form of the spontaneous auxiliary "ru."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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