Onozukara iwanu o shitau hito ya aru to yasurau hodo ni toshi no kurenuru

おのづから言はぬを慕ふ人やあると
やすらふほどに年の暮れぬる

Roma-ji: Onozukara iwanu o shitau hito ya aru to yasurau hodo ni toshi no kurenuru
English Translation: Perhaps by chance
someone longs for word from me
because I do not write,
and while I hesitated so,
the year has drawn to its close.
Meaning: Wondering whether someone might, by chance, be missing me because I had not written, I hesitated, and meanwhile the year has come to its end.
Commentary: Winter Poems 576

Headnote: "Sent to someone at the end of the year"
The headnote tells us this was sent to someone at the end of the year. Thinking that someone might, perhaps, miss him all the more because he had not written, the poet hesitated to send word, and meanwhile the year has come to its end. The poem catches the subtle workings of the heart between people, as time slips by while one holds back a letter weighing another's feelings.
It was included in the winter section of the Shin Kokin Wakashū. Its first line, onozukara, is the same as that of 502 in this book, which told of a mountain village with no visitors. Its last line is the same as that of 572, toshi no kurenuru.

First line, “onozukara”: perhaps, by chance.
Second line, “iwanu o shitau”: shitau is to long for, to miss me because I say nothing.
Third line, “hito ya aru to”: a hypermetric line of six syllables; ya is a question particle, wondering whether such a person exists.
Fourth line, “yasurau hodo ni”: yasurau is to hesitate, and hodo ni means while.
Fifth line, “toshi no kurenuru”: nuru is the attributive of the perfective, ending in the attributive to leave a lingering feeling; it is the same last line as 572.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
Prev Poem: Oshinabete onaji tsukihi no sugiyukeba miyako mo kaku ya toshi wa kurenuru
Next Poem: Itsu ka ware mukashi no hito to iwaru beki kasanaru toshi o okurimukaete