Miru yume no utsutsu ni naru wa yo no tsune zo utsutsu no yume ni naru zo kanashiki - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

見る夢のうつつになるは世の常ぞ
うつつの夢になるぞ悲しき

Roma-ji: Miru yume no utsutsu ni naru wa yo no tsune zo utsutsu no yume ni naru zo kanashiki
English Translation: That the dream one sees
should turn into what is real
is the way of things;
that what is real should turn to dream—
that is what brings me sorrow.
Meaning: It is the way of the world for dreams to come true; but how sad it is when what was real turns into a dream.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 920

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown"
The poem says that it is common for a dream one has seen to come true, but sad when reality fades like a dream. Through the device of reversing "dream" and "reality" in a parallel pair, it laments that past meetings have now slipped away like a dream.
From 919 to 922 in this book, four poems in a row sing of dreams.

First line, "miru yume no," means "the dream one sees," taking up "yume ni sae" of the preceding poem, 919.
Second line, "utsutsu ni naru wa," means "that it becomes reality."
Third line, "yo no tsune zo," means "is the way of the world." The poem breaks here.
Fourth line, "utsutsu no yume ni," means "reality into a dream." Reversing "yume no utsutsu ni" of the upper verse into "utsutsu no yume ni," it forms a parallel pair.
Final line, "naru zo kanashiki," means "its becoming so is sad," concluding in the attributive of the adjective "kanashi" in answer to the binding particle "zo."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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