Ajikinaku iwade kokoro o tsukusu kana tsutsumu hitome mo hito no tame ka wa - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

あぢきなく言はで心を尽くすかな
包む人目も人のためかは

Roma-ji: Ajikinaku iwade kokoro o tsukusu kana tsutsumu hitome mo hito no tame ka wa
English Translation: To no avail at all
without a word, I wear away
this heart of mine:
and the hiding from others' eyes,
is that for her sake? Hardly
Meaning: To no avail, without a word, I wear my heart away; and this hiding from others' eyes, is it really for her sake at all?
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems III 831

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown"
To no avail, he says, I wear out my heart without a word; is the hiding from others' eyes for her sake at all? He wears his heart away without confessing his love, yet wonders whether hiding his love for fear of others' eyes is not in the end for his own reputation rather than for her, reflecting on the futility of his own secret love.
The author, "Minamoto no Mitsuyuki," was the son of Minamoto no Mitsusue. An official who also served the Kamakura shogunate, he is known as the editor of the Kawachi text of The Tale of Genji.
Poem 826 of this book sang that one should not hide even one's name, and this one, reflecting on the futility of hiding, answers it in questioning the worth of hidden love.

First line, "ajikinaku": "to no avail, pointlessly."
Second line, "iwade kokoro o": "de" is a negative conjunctive particle, "without a word, my heart."
Third line, "tsukusu kana": "kana" is an exclamatory particle, "how I wear it out!" The poem pauses here.
Fourth line, "tsutsumu hitome mo": "tsutsumu" is to hide, "the hiding from others' eyes."
Fifth line, "hito no tame ka wa": "ka wa" is a rhetorical final particle, "is it for her? No, for myself."
Author: Minamoto no Mitsuyuki
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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