Sumizome no tamoto ni kakaru ne o mireba ayame mo shiranu namida narikeri - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

墨染の袂にかかるねを見れば
あやめも知らぬ涙なりけり

Roma-ji: Sumizome no tamoto ni kakaru ne o mireba ayame mo shiranu namida narikeri
English Translation: When I see the roots
that hang upon my sleeves
of ink-black mourning,
they are tears that know no sense,
nor even sweet flag day
Meaning: When I look at the sweet flag roots hanging on my ink-black mourning sleeves, I find they are tears shed with sobbing, knowing neither the festival nor any sense of order.
Commentary: Book Nine Poems of Lament 572

Headnote: "Sent on the fifth day of the Fifth Month, when I was a Lesser Captain, after Major Counselor Tadaie passed away, along with a reply when Middle Counselor Kunizane, then a Middle Captain, had sent me a letter"
When the poet was a Lesser Captain, after his father, Major Counselor Fujiwara no Tadaie, had died, Minamoto no Kunizane, then a Middle Captain, sent him a letter on the fifth day of the Fifth Month, the Boys' Festival, and the poet sent this poem with his reply. When I see the roots hanging on my ink-black sleeves, he says, they are tears that know no "ayame." At the festival one wears sweet flags, but one in mourning has no heart to celebrate, and his tears flow until he loses all sense of things, a grief expressed through pivot words tied to the sweet flag. Tadaie died in 1091.
The author, "Provisional Middle Counselor Toshitada," was the son of Major Counselor Fujiwara no Tadaie. He rose to Provisional Middle Counselor and was the father of Fujiwara no Shunzei, compiler of this anthology.
The next poem, 573, is Kunizane's reply. The exchange in 556 and 557 of this book also pairs the sweet flag's root with the sound of weeping to sing of mourning, so two exchanges with the same conceit are placed in the book.

First line, "sumizome no": the black mourning dress, as if dyed in ink. It uses the same words as "sumizome no tamoto" in the preceding poem, 571.
Second line, "tamoto ni kakaru": the sweet flag roots worn at the festival hang on the sleeves, with a hint of tears falling on them.
Third line, "ne o mireba": "ne" is a pivot word joining the sweet flag's root and the sound of weeping, the same conceit as "ori naranu ne o" in 556 of this book.
Fourth line, "ayame mo shiranu": "ayame" is a pivot word joining the sweet flag with "ayame," pattern or sense of order, "knowing neither the festival nor any sense of things."
Fifth line, "namida narikeri": "keri" expresses realization, "they are tears."
Author: Fujiwara no Toshitada
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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