Amagumo no warinaki hima o moru tsuki no kage bakari dani aimiteshi kana

天雲のわりなき隙を漏る月の
影ばかりだにあひ見てしかな

Roma-ji: Amagumo no warinaki hima o moru tsuki no kage bakari dani aimiteshi kana
English Translation: Through the clouds of heaven
in the hopeless narrow gap
the moon leaking through,
if only for a glimpse so short
may I see and meet with you!
Meaning: If only for a moment, as brief as the moonlight that leaks through the narrowest gap in the clouds, I would meet you.
Commentary: Love Poems 650

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "The moon"
Like the moonlight leaking through the slightest of gaps in the clouds that cover the sky, the poet wishes he could meet his beloved, if only for the briefest moment. The fleeting light of the moon between the clouds carries his urgent wish to see her even once.

First line, “amagumo no”: of the clouds in the sky.
Second line, “warinaki hima o”: warinashi is hopeless: through the hopelessly narrow gap.
Third line, “moru tsuki no”: the moon leaking through, answering the topic.
Fourth line, “kage bakari dani”: kage is the moonlight and also a figure; dani marks the least that one asks: if only that much.
Fifth line, “aimiteshi kana”: teshikana expresses one's own wish: I would meet you.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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