Koiwabite uchinuru yoi no yume ni dani au to wa hito no mieba koso arame - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

恋ひわびてうち寝る宵の夢にだに
逢ふとは人の見えばこそあらめ

Roma-ji: Koiwabite uchinuru yoi no yume ni dani au to wa hito no mieba koso arame
English Translation: Worn out with longing,
on the night I lie down to sleep,
if in dreams at least
I could see her come to meet me,
that would be something, at least
Meaning: Worn out with longing, I lie down at night—if only in my dreams, at least, I could see us meet, that would be something; but not even that is granted.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 899

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Worn with longing, he says, if only in the dreams of the night when I lie down she appeared to meet me, that would be something. Not only can he not meet her in reality, he cannot meet her even in dreams, the last comfort left, and the poem conveys the lament of a love abandoned even by dreams. It sings of a deep despair that relies on meeting in dreams as a last hope, yet finds even that denied.
The author, "Minister of Popular Affairs Shigenori," was the son of Junior Counselor Fujiwara no Michinori. He served as Minister of Popular Affairs and rose to Middle Counselor, and because he planted many cherry trees at his residence he was called the Sakuramachi Middle Counselor.
Where the preceding poem, 898, sings of a love consoled by dreams, this one sings of a love that cannot meet even in dreams, so that the heart that relies on dreams and the heart abandoned even by dreams stand in contrast. Poem 851 in this book also begins with "koiwabite."

First line, "koiwabite": "wabu" means to be troubled, to suffer, "troubled by longing." It is the same first line as 851 in this book.
Second line, "uchinuru yoi no": "uchi" is a prefix setting the rhythm, "of the night when I lie down."
Third line, "yume ni dani": "dani" marks a minimum, "at least in dreams." It contrasts with "yume ni nagusamu" in the second line of the preceding poem, 898.
Fourth line, "au to wa hito no": "that she meets me," with "wa" adding emphasis.
Fifth line, "mieba koso arame": "ba" is hypothetical and "koso" an emphatic particle that binds with "me," the perfective of the conjectural "mu." "If she appeared, that would be something": it closes with the unspoken sense that not even this is granted.
Author: Fujiwara no Shigenori
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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