Namida yue tsuki wa kumoreru tsuki nareba nagarenu ori zo harema narikeru

涙ゆゑ月は曇れる月なれば
流れぬ折ぞ晴れ間なりける

Roma-ji: Namida yue tsuki wa kumoreru tsuki nareba nagarenu ori zo harema narikeru
English Translation: Because of my tears
the moon is a clouded moon,
and so it must be
only when they do not flow
that it has its breaks of clear.
Meaning: Since the moon is clouded by my tears, its only clear spells are the moments when they are not flowing.
Commentary: Love Poems 643

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "The moon"
Since the moon looks clouded not because of clouds in the sky but because of tears, the only clear spells it has are the moments when the tears are not flowing. The rarity of such clear spells conveys the ceaseless tears of love.
Like 637 in this book, it opens with namida yue, because of tears, and sings of the moon clouded by tears.

First line, “namida yue”: because of tears.
Second line, “tsuki wa kumoreru”: the moon is clouded, answering the topic.
Third line, “tsuki nareba”: since it is such a moon, repeating the word tsuki from the second line.
Fourth line, “nagarenu ori zo”: only when they do not flow; the binding particle zo is answered by the attributive keru at the end.
Fifth line, “harema narikeru”: harema is a break in the clouds: that is its clear spell, closing in realization.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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