Kimi kouru namida no kakaru Sode no ura wa iwao nari tomo kuchi zo shinubeki - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

君恋ふる涙のかかる袖のうらは
巌なりとも朽ちぞしぬべき

Roma-ji: Kimi kouru namida no kakaru Sode no ura wa iwao nari tomo kuchi zo shinubeki
English Translation: The Bay of the Sleeve
where the tears of longing fall,
the tears shed for you,
though it were of solid rock
would surely crumble away.
Meaning: The Bay of the Sleeve, drenched with the tears I shed in longing for you, would surely crumble away even if it were made of solid rock.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Love Poems V 961

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown"
The poem says that the Bay of Sode, on which fall the tears I shed in longing for you, would surely crumble away even if it were solid rock. Overlaying the inside of the sleeve on the poetic place-name Sode no Ura, it exaggerates a flood of tears and a passion fierce enough to rot even hard rock.

First line, "kimi kouru," means "longing for you." It begins with the same line as the preceding poem, 960, "kimi kouru."
Second line, "namida no kakaru," means "on which tears fall."
Third line, "Sode no ura wa," means "the inside of the sleeve," with "ura" a pivot word joining "ura," the lining of a sleeve, and Sode no Ura, a poetic place in Dewa Province. It is an irregular line of six syllables.
Fourth line, "iwao nari tomo," means "even if it were great rock," bringing in rock by association with the bay.
Final line, "kuchi zo shinubeki," means "it would surely crumble," concluding with "beki," the attributive of the conjectural "beshi," in answer to the binding particle "zo."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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