classic waka stream

つれづれとふれば涙の雨なるを
春のものとや人は見るらむ
Roma-ji

Tsurezure to fureba namida no ame naru o haru no mono to ya hito wa miruramu

English Translation
Idly passing days,
my tears come falling down
as a rain of grief:
do others look on it
as just a thing of spring?
Meaning
As I pass the days idly lost in thought, my tears fall like rain; do others look on it only as the rain of spring?
Commentary
Book One Spring Poems I 33

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Passing her days with nothing to do but brood, the poet weeps tears that fall like rain, and wonders whether others see it merely as the spring rain of the season. Overlaying her own tears of sorrow on a scene of spring rain, she expresses a lonely grief no one understands.
The author, "Izumi Shikibu," was a daughter of Ōe no Masamune, governor of Echizen. A lady-in-waiting to Jōtōmon'in Fujiwara no Shōshi, consort of Emperor Ichijō, she is one of the foremost women poets of the Heian court, excelling in love poetry.
The third line of the main text reads "namida no 南 naru o," which does not match "namida no ame naru o" in the reading line. Since "南" makes no sense as a word, the line is interpreted here, following the reading line, as "rain."

First line, "tsurezure to": idle and lost in melancholy thought.
Second line, "fureba namida no": "fure" is a pivot word meaning both time "passing" and rain "falling," layering the passing days with falling tears.
Third line, "ame naru o": "though it is rain," with the concessive particle "o." Following 31 and 32, which depict real spring rain, this poem likens tears to spring rain.
Fourth line, "haru no mono to ya": the interrogative "ya" links with "ramu" in the last line.
Fifth line, "hito wa miruramu": the attributive of the conjectural "ramu": "do people see it so?" lamenting others' lack of understanding.
Author
Izumi Shikibu
Source
Senzai Wakashu
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