Omoikane kinō no sora o nagamureba sore ka to miyuru kumo dani mo nashi - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

思ひかね昨日の空を眺むれば
それかと見ゆる雲だにもなし

Roma-ji: Omoikane kinō no sora o nagamureba sore ka to miyuru kumo dani mo nashi
English Translation: Unable to bear it,
when I gaze upon the sky
of yesterday,
there is not even a cloud
that I might take to be him
Meaning: Unable to bear my grief, I gaze at the sky where yesterday we sent him off, but there is not even a cloud that I might take for him.
Commentary: Book Nine Poems of Lament 550

Headnote: "Composed on the morning after the burial of Middle Captain Michinobu Ason, who had died"
Composed on the morning after the remains of Middle Captain Fujiwara no Michinobu were sent off and laid to rest. Unable to bear my grief, I gaze at yesterday's sky, the poet says, but there is not even a cloud that seems to be him. If the smoke of the cremation lingered as a cloud, he could at least cherish it as the dead man, but even that is gone, conveying a loss with nothing left to cling to.
The author, "Fujiwara no Yoritaka," lived in the mid Heian period and left this poem mourning Michinobu's death, but little is known of his life.
The preceding poem, 549, is said to have been composed by Michinobu facing death, and this poem sings of his funeral, so the two are placed side by side.

First line, "omoikane": "unable to bear my thoughts," overwhelmed by grief.
Second line, "kinō no sora o": "yesterday's sky," the sky where the smoke of cremation rose.
Third line, "nagamureba": "nagamu" is to gaze lost in thought, and the perfective with "ba" means "when I gaze."
Fourth line, "sore ka to miyuru": "sore" refers to the smoke of the cremation. It sees the smoke as turned into clouds, and 600 of this book likewise sings of clouds over the mountain rim as a keepsake of the smoke of the dead.
Fifth line, "kumo dani mo nashi": "dani" marks the least, "not even a cloud."
Author: Fujiwara no Yoritaka
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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