Mi no usa no aki wa wasururu mono naraba namida kumorade tsuki wa mitemashi - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

身の憂さの秋は忘るるものならば
涙曇らで月は見てまし

Roma-ji: Mi no usa no aki wa wasururu mono naraba namida kumorade tsuki wa mitemashi
English Translation: If only in autumn
the sorrows of my own life
could be forgotten,
I might gaze upon the moon
with eyes not dimmed by tears
Meaning: If the sorrows of my life could be forgotten in autumn, I would be able to gaze at the moon without my eyes being clouded by tears.
Commentary: Book Four Autumn Poems I 298

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown"
If the sorrows of his life were things he could forget in autumn, the poet says, he would be able to see the clear moon distinctly, his eyes not clouded by tears. In fact, autumn only makes him dwell on his troubles, and tears blur the moon, a lament expressed in the form of a counterfactual.
The author, "Minister of Justice Yorisuke," is Fujiwara no Yorisuke, son of Major Counselor Fujiwara no Tadanori, who rose to Minister of Justice. He was renowned as a master of kemari, courtly football, and his elder brother was Fujiwara no Norinaga.
Following the preceding poem, 297, it voices a lament for one's own life before the moon.

First line, "mi no usa no": "of the sorrows of my life."
Second line, "aki wa wasururu": "forgotten in autumn," with "wa" singling out autumn from the other seasons.
Third line, "mono naraba": "if it were so," a hypothetical answering "mashi" in the last line.
Fourth line, "namida kumorade": the negative conjunctive "de" gives "without being clouded by tears."
Fifth line, "tsuki wa mitemashi": "mashi" is the counterfactual auxiliary: "I would gaze at the moon," lamenting that in fact tears cloud it.
Author: Fujiwara no Yorisuke
Source: Senzai Wakashu
Prev Poem: Fukenikeru waga yo no aki zo aware naru katabuku tsuki wa mata mo idenan
Next Poem: Ōkata no aki no aware o omoiyare tsuki ni kokoro wa akugarenu tomo