Itoedomo sasuga ni kumo no uchichirite tsuki no atari o hanarezarikeri

厭へどもさすがに雲のうち散りて
月のあたりを離れざりけり

Roma-ji: Itoedomo sasuga ni kumo no uchichirite tsuki no atari o hanarezarikeri
English Translation: Though I wish them gone,
all the same the clouds disperse,
scattering in shreds,
and around about the moon
they will never take their leave.
Meaning: However much I dislike them, the clouds, scattering into shreds, still will not leave the moon's side.
Commentary: Autumn Poems 373

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "When I composed many poems on the moon"
This is the thirty-seventh poem in the moon series. However much the poet hates the clouds that hide the moon, still they break into shreds and stay around it. He laments the clouds that will not leave the moon as something beyond his control.
Following the drifting cloud that lingers near the moon in the preceding poem, this one tells of clouds that, though scattered, still will not leave the moon's side. It shows the gap between a heart that hates the clouds and the reality that they cling to the moon.

First line, “itoedomo”: itou is to dislike, and domo is concessive.
Second line, “sasuga ni kumo no”: sasuga ni means even so, all the same.
Third line, “uchichirite”: uchi is a prefix, the clouds breaking and scattering.
Fourth line, “tsuki no atari o”: the area around the moon.
Fifth line, “hanarezarikeri”: zari is the continuative of the negative zu and keri expresses realization, they will not leave.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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