Sumizome no koromo no sode wa kumo nare ya namida no ame no taezu fururan - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

墨染の衣の袖は雲なれや
涙の雨の絶えず降るらん

Roma-ji: Sumizome no koromo no sode wa kumo nare ya namida no ame no taezu fururan
English Translation: The sleeves of my robe,
dyed the color of black ink,
must they be clouds?
That is why the rain of tears
never ceases falling down.
Meaning: Are the sleeves of my ink-black mourning robe clouds, then? Is that why the rain of my tears never stops falling?
Commentary: Book Twenty Lament Poems 1297

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poet asks whether the sleeves of the ink-black robe are clouds, for the rain of tears falls without ceasing. Seeing the black sleeves of mourning as dark rain clouds, and the tears spilling from them as rain, it sings of grief that never runs dry.

First line, "sumizome no," means "ink-dyed," the black of mourning. It shares mourning with the third line of 1290 in this book, "sumizome no."
Second line, "koromo no sode wa," means "the sleeves of the robe," sharing these words with the fourth line of 1290 in this book, "koromo no sode no."
Third line, "kumo nare ya," means "are they clouds," with "nare" the perfective form of the assertive "nari" and "ya" a question, meaning "is it because they are clouds."
Fourth line, "namida no ame no," means "the rain of tears," likening tears to rain.
Final line, "taezu fururan," means "falls without ceasing," with "ran" an auxiliary conjecturing the cause. Cloud and rain are associated words.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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