Kumoi naru hito o haruka ni omou ni wa waga kokoro sae sora ni koso nare - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

雲居なる人を遥かに思ふには
我が心さへ空にこそなれ

Roma-ji: Kumoi naru hito o haruka ni omou ni wa waga kokoro sae sora ni koso nare
English Translation: When I think from afar
of the one beyond the clouds,
so distant from me,
even this heart of mine, too,
becomes the empty sky.
Meaning: When I think of you so far away, as if beyond the clouds, even my own heart drifts off into the empty sky.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 909

Headnote: "Having left the one he loved in a distant place"
The poem says that when I think from afar of one as distant as beyond the clouds, even my own heart becomes as empty as the sky. It expresses, through the associated words of cloud and sky, the rootlessness of a heart longing for a lover far away.
According to the headnote, it was written after he had left the one he loved in a distant place.
The author, "Minamoto no Tsunemoto," was the son of Prince Sadazumi, a son of Emperor Seiwa, and is regarded as the founder of the Seiwa Genji. He served as assistant governor of Musashi among other posts and took part in suppressing the rebellions of Taira no Masakado and Fujiwara no Sumitomo.

First line, "kumoi naru," means "who is beyond the clouds," far away. It shares "kumoi" with "kumoi ni takaki" in 891 of this book and "kumoi ni miyuru" in the next poem, 910.
Second line, "hito o haruka ni," means "that person, far away." It shares the thought of one far distant with the first line of the preceding poem, 908, "haruka naru."
Third line, "omou ni wa," means "when I think of."
Fourth line, "waga kokoro sae," means "even my own heart," with "sae" expressing addition: not only is that person beyond the clouds, but even my heart as well.
Final line, "sora ni koso nare," means "becomes as empty as the sky," concluding in the realis "nare" in answer to the binding particle "koso." "Kumoi" and "sora" are associated words. It shares the use of "sora" for a heart set adrift by love with the second line of 850 in this book, "kokoro wa sora ni."
Author: Minamoto no Tsunemoto
Source: Shui Wakashu
Prev Poem: Haruka naru hodo ni mo kayou kokoro kana saritote hito no shiranu mono yue
Next Poem: Yoso ni arite kumoi ni miyuru imo ga ie ni hayaku itaramu ayume kurokoma