Chirihiji no kazu ni mo aranu ware yue ni omoiwaburan imo ga kanashisa - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

ちりひぢの数にもあらぬ我ゆゑに
思ひわぶらん妹がかなしさ

Roma-ji: Chirihiji no kazu ni mo aranu ware yue ni omoiwaburan imo ga kanashisa
English Translation: For the sake of me,
not counted even among
the dust and the mud,
she must be grieving—how dear
is she, my wife, to me.
Meaning: She must be grieving for my sake, though I am worth no more than dust and mud; how dear she is to me, my wife.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 872

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poem says how dear is my wife, who must be grieving for my sake, though I count for no more than dust and mud. Belittling himself, it sings of tender concern for a wife far away who worries over him.
Book Fifteen of the Man'yōshū contains a nearly identical poem by Nakatomi no Yakamori, written while in exile in Echizen as he thought of Sano no Otogami no Otome left behind in the capital.

First line, "chirihiji no," means "of dust and mud," an image of what is worthless.
Second line, "kazu ni mo aranu," means "not even counted among them." It shares with "kazu naranu mi" in 879 and 918 of this book the self-effacement of a person who does not count.
Third line, "ware yue ni," means "because of me."
Fourth line, "omoiwaburan," means "must be grieving," with "ran" an auxiliary of present conjecture.
Final line, "imo ga kanashisa," means "how dear is my wife," ending on a noun. "Kanashi" here means dear and pitiable.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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