Omoiki ya waga matsu hito wa yoso nagara Tanabatatsume no au o mimu to wa - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

思ひきや我が待つ人はよそながら
七夕つめの逢ふを見むとは

Roma-ji: Omoiki ya waga matsu hito wa yoso nagara Tanabatatsume no au o mimu to wa
English Translation: Did I ever dream
that while the one I wait for
stays so far away,
I would watch the Weaver Maid
meet her love across the sky?
Meaning: Did I ever imagine that, while the one I wait for stays away, I would watch the Weaver Maid meet her love?
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 771

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poem says that the poet never imagined that, while the one awaited stays away, he would watch the Weaver Maid of Tanabata achieve her yearly meeting. It laments that even the Weaver Maid, who may meet only once a year, has her meeting, while the poet cannot meet the one he waits for. From here to 773 follow three love poems on Tanabata.

First line, "omoiki ya," means "did I ever think? no," with "ya" rhetorical. The poem breaks after this first line, which answers "to wa" in the final line.
Second line, "waga matsu hito wa," means "the one I wait for."
Third line, "yoso nagara," means "while staying far away," sharing the grief of watching from afar with the second line of the next poem, 772, "yoso ni miru beki."
Fourth line, "Tanabatatsume no," means "of the Weaver Maid," "tanabatatsume" meaning the woman at the loom, the star Vega. It pairs with the third line of the next poem, 772, "Hikoboshi no."
Final line, "au o mimu to wa," means "that I would see her meet," turning back in inverted order to "omoiki ya" in the first line.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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