Aware chō hito mo naki mi o ushi tote mo ware sae ikaga itoihatsubeki - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

あはれてふ人もなき身を憂しとても
我さへいかが厭ひ果つべき

Roma-ji: Aware chō hito mo naki mi o ushi tote mo ware sae ikaga itoihatsubeki
English Translation: This self of mine,
which no one ever pities,
though it is bitter,
how could I, too, of all people
spurn it utterly?
Meaning: Though this life of mine, which no one pities, is hard to bear, how could I myself as well cast it off in disgust?
Commentary: Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Poems II 1082

Headnote: "Composed for the Hirota Shrine poetry contest"
This poem was composed for the poetry contest at the Hirota Shrine. Though this self that no one pities is bitter, how could I too spurn it utterly, he says. He is one no one cares for, yet if he himself were to abandon himself as well, it would be too pitiful. He resolves that he at least will cherish himself, singing of self-compassion in the midst of loneliness. The Hirota Shrine contest was held in Jōan 2 (1172) at the urging of the monk Dōin.
The author, "Fujiwara no Morikata Ason," was a poet of the late Heian period whose biography is not known in detail.
It shares the words "ushi tote mo" and "itoihatsu" with "ushi tote mo itoi mo hatenu" in the first and second lines of 1114 of this book. Where this poem says the poet cannot wholly spurn himself, 1114 sings of a world one cannot wholly spurn.

First line, "aware chō": "chō" is a contraction of "to iu," "saying 'how pitiful.'"
Second line, "hito mo naki mi o": "this self with no one to say so."
Third line, "ushi tote mo": "though it is bitter." It is the same phrase as in 1114 of this book.
Fourth line, "ware sae ikaga": "sae" is an additive particle, "I too," and "ikaga" is rhetorical, answering "beki" in the fifth line.
Fifth line, "itoihatsubeki": "could I spurn it utterly? I could not." It recalls "itoi mo hatenu" in the second line of 1114 of this book.
Author: Fujiwara no Morikata
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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