Sora ni mitsu omoi no keburi kumo naraba nagamuru hito no me ni zo miemashi - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

空に満つおもひの煙雲ならば
ながむる人の目にぞ見えまし

Roma-ji: Sora ni mitsu omoi no keburi kumo naraba nagamuru hito no me ni zo miemashi
English Translation: If the smoke of love
that fills all the sky above
truly were the clouds,
then surely to these eyes that gaze
in longing it would be seen.
Meaning: If the smoke of your love that fills the sky were truly clouds, surely I, gazing up in longing, would have seen it with my own eyes.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Love Poems V 972

Headnote: "Reply"
The poem says that if the smoke of love filling the sky were truly clouds, it would surely have been visible to my eyes as I gaze out in longing. Accepting the emperor's grand exaggeration of love, it turns it back by saying no such clouds of smoke are to be seen, a witty reply that feigns doubt of his love.
According to the headnote, it is a reply to the preceding poem, 971. Showing herself gazing at the sky as she waits for the emperor's visit, it quietly carries a note of reproach.
The author, "Shōshō no Kōi", was a consort who served Emperor En'yū; her family origins are not known.

First line, "sora ni mitsu," means "filling the sky." It takes up "sora ni michinureba" in the preceding poem, 971.
Second line, "omoi no keburi," means "the smoke of love's fire," with the "hi" of "omoi" a pivot word joining "hi," fire. It takes over "omoi" and "keburi" from the preceding poem as they are.
Third line, "kumo naraba," means "if it were clouds," a supposition contrary to fact. It takes up the final line of the preceding poem, "kumo to naruran."
Fourth line, "nagamuru hito no," means "of one gazing out in longing," pointing to herself.
Final line, "me ni zo miemashi," means "it would have been seen by the eyes," with "mashi" a counterfactual auxiliary answering "naraba" in the third line. It concludes in the attributive in answer to the binding particle "zo."
Author: Shōshō no Kōi
Source: Shui Wakashu
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