Fureba yo no itodo uki mi no shiraruru o kyō no nagame ni mizu masaranan - Izumi Shikibu Nikki(English Translation & Meaning)

ふれはよのいとゝ憂身のしらるゝを
今日の詠めに水增ら南

Roma-ji: Fureba yo no itodo uki mi no shiraruru o kyō no nagame ni mizu masaranan
English Translation: As the rain falls on,
the sorrow of my life in this world
grows ever plainer;
let the long rain of my gazing
swell the waters high today
Meaning: Whenever it rains I feel more keenly how sorrowful my life in this world is; let today's long rain swell the waters high and carry me away.
Commentary: 9 Gazing into the Early-Summer Rain

Around the time the prince's visits grew rare, the rain fell day after day and the hours dragged. Izumi Shikibu gazed into a sky without a break in the clouds and brooded endlessly on what would become of the two of them. Many men seemed eager to court her, but she cared nothing for them now; people would surely gossip, she thought, but one must first be alive for that to matter, and so she let the days pass.
The woman is Izumi Shikibu, daughter of Ōe no Masamune and, as the wife of Tachibana no Michisada, Governor of Izumi, mother of Koshikibu no Naishi. The Prince of the Dazaifu is Prince Atsumichi, fourth son of Emperor Reizei, so called because he served as Governor-General of the Dazaifu.
After writing "Shinoburan mono to mo shirade ono ga tada mi o shiru ame to omoikeru kana" in reply to the prince's "Ōkata ni samidaruru to ya omouran kimi koiwataru kyō no nagame o," Izumi Shikibu turned the paper over and wrote this poem.
After the poem she idly jotted a few more words. Reading it, the prince at once replied with "Nani sen ni mi o sae sutten to omouran ame ga shita ni wa kimi nomi ya furu," adding, "Everyone lives in a sorrowful world."

The opening lines mean "when it rains, my unhappy self in this world all the more," where "furu" means both "to rain" and "to pass one's life." In the third line a spontaneous auxiliary shows that the realization comes unbidden.
The lower verses mean "let the waters rise in today's long rain," with "nagame" again meaning both long rain and gazing, and a particle wishing for something beyond oneself. She wishes the swollen waters would sweep her sorrowful self away; after the gentle reply before it, this poem turns sharply to reveal a grief so deep she would cast her life aside.
Author: Izumi Shikibu
Source: Izumi Shikibu Nikki
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