Koishisa ya omoiyowaru to nagamureba itodo kokoro o kudaku tsukikage

恋しさや思ひ弱ると眺むれば
いとど心を砕く月影

Roma-ji: Koishisa ya omoiyowaru to nagamureba itodo kokoro o kudaku tsukikage
English Translation: Would my longing ease,
my heart grow weaker, I thought,
and gazed, yet all the more
it only breaks my heart apart,
this light of the moon.
Meaning: I gazed at the moon thinking my longing might ease, yet its light only shatters my heart all the more.
Commentary: Love Poems 646

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "The moon"
The poet gazed at the moon hoping his longing might ease a little, but instead its light shatters his heart all the more and deepens his longing. The poem catches a movement of the heart that recurs throughout the group of moon poems, in which seeking comfort in the moon only deepens the pain of love.

First line, “koishisa ya”: the binding particle ya marks a question: my longing.
Second line, “omoiyowaru to”: wondering whether my feelings would weaken.
Third line, “nagamureba”: nagamu is to gaze while lost in thought: when I gaze.
Fourth line, “itodo kokoro o”: itodo is all the more.
Fifth line, “kudaku tsukikage”: kokoro o kudaku is to torment the heart; ending on a noun, the moonlight, answering the topic.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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