Musubiaguru izumi ni sumeru tsukikage wa te ni mo torarenu kagami narikeri

掬び上ぐる泉に澄める月影は
手にも取られぬ鏡なりけり

Roma-ji: Musubiaguru izumi ni sumeru tsukikage wa te ni mo torarenu kagami narikeri
English Translation: Scooping it up high,
the moon shining clear and bright
in the spring water
is a mirror that one's hand
can never truly hold.
Meaning: The moonlight shining clear in the spring water I scoop up in my hands is a mirror that I can never take into my hands.
Commentary: Summer Poems 243

Headnote: "On the topic of facing a spring and viewing the moon"
The headnote shows that this poem was composed on the topic of facing a spring and viewing the moon. When the poet scoops up the spring water, the moon is reflected clear in it. It looks like a mirror, yet it spills away with the water and cannot be held in the hand.
Likening the moon to a mirror is an old device, but here it is the moon mirrored in scooped-up spring water, a mirror one tries in vain to hold. The next poem, on the same topic, also treats the moon in a spring, so the two stand side by side.

First line, “musubiaguru”: a line of six syllables, scooping water up in cupped hands.
Second line, “izumi ni sumeru”: sume is to be clear and reflect, and ru is the attributive of the continuative ri.
Third line, “tsukikage wa”: tsukikage is moonlight, or the moon's image mirrored in water.
Fourth line, “te ni mo torarenu”: re is the potential ru, cannot even be taken in the hand.
Fifth line, “kagami narikeri”: likens the moonlight to a mirror, with narikeri expressing realization.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
Prev Poem: Tsuyu no chiru ashi no wakaba ni tsuki saete aki o arasou Naniwae no ura
Next Poem: Musubu te ni suzushiki kage o shitau kana shimizu ni yadoru natsu no yo no tsuki