Kagiri arite hito wa katagata wakaru tomo namida o dani mo todometeshigana - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

限りありて人はかたがた別るとも
涙をだにも止めてしがな

Roma-ji: Kagiri arite hito wa katagata wakaru tomo namida o dani mo todometeshigana
English Translation: Since all things have bounds,
though people now go their ways
and part one by one,
I would wish at least my tears
to stay behind here
Meaning: Since the time of mourning has its limit, everyone may now part and go their separate ways, but I wish at least my tears could stay here.
Commentary: Book Nine Poems of Lament 578

Headnote: "Composed by His Majesty on the day people went back to their various homes when the mourning period ended after Taikenmon'in passed away"
Composed by the retired emperor after the death of his mother, Taikenmon'in, on the day the period of mourning ended and those who had kept vigil returned to their homes. Since mourning has its limit, everyone may part and go their ways, he says, but I wish at least my tears could stay here. Though people leave, he wishes the tears shed in longing for his late mother to remain in this place, showing an unending grief. Taikenmon'in died in 1145.
The author, "His Majesty Sutoku-in," indicates a poem by Retired Emperor Sutoku, first son of Emperor Toba and the seventy-fifth emperor, whose mother was Taikenmon'in Shōshi. Defeated in the Hōgen Disturbance, he was exiled to Sanuki and died there. He sponsored the Kyūan Hyakushu and ordered the Shika Wakashū. He has a poem in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.
The next poem, 579, is Jōsaimon'in no Hyōe's reply.

First line, "kagiri arite": "since the mourning period has its limit." Poem 592 of this book also opens with "kagiri arite," singing of the rules of mourning.
Second line, "hito wa katagata": "katagata" means "in their various directions," the people who kept vigil dispersing.
Third line, "wakaru tomo": the concessive "tomo," "even if they part."
Fourth line, "namida o dani mo": "dani" marks the least, "at least my tears."
Fifth line, "todometeshigana": "teshigana" expresses a wish, "I would keep them here." The next poem, 579, answers with "tomarazarikere."
Author: Retired Emperor Sutoku
Source: Senzai Wakashu
Prev Poem: Uchinarasu kane no oto ni ya nagaki yo mo akenu nari to wa omoishiruran
Next Poem: Chirijiri ni wakaruru kyō no kanashisa ni namida shimo koso tomarazarikere