Ware ya uki hito ya tsuraki to chihayaburu kami chō kami ni toimiteshi kana - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

我や憂き人やつらきとちはやぶる
神てふ神に問ひ見てしかな

Roma-ji: Ware ya uki hito ya tsuraki to chihayaburu kami chō kami ni toimiteshi kana
English Translation: Am I the hateful one,
or are you the cruel one?—
to the mighty gods,
to each and every god there is,
I would put this question.
Meaning: Is it that I am hateful, or that you are cruel? I would like to put the question to every god there is.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 868

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown"
The poem says: is it that I am hateful, or that you are cruel? I would ask every god there is. It sings of the trouble of a love in which one cannot tell where the fault lies, through the bold idea of seeking a judgment from the gods.
Following the preceding poem, it belongs to the sequence touching on the gods.

First line, "ware ya uki," means "is it that I am hateful," with "ya" an interrogative binding particle.
Second line, "hito ya tsuraki to," means "or that you are cruel." The first two lines form a parallel pair repeating "ya."
Third line, "chihayaburu," is a pillow word modifying "kami," god. The first line of the closing poem of this book, 924, is also "chihayaburu," the two answering each other as poems of the gods.
Fourth line, "kami chō kami ni," means "to every god there is," with "chō" a contraction of "to iu."
Final line, "toimiteshi kana," means "I would like to ask," with "teshi kana" expressing a wish.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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