Nageku tomo shiraba ya hito no onozukara aware to omou koto mo aru beki

嘆くとも知らばや人のおのづから
あはれと思ふこともあるべき

Roma-ji: Nageku tomo shiraba ya hito no onozukara aware to omou koto mo aru beki
English Translation: Though I grieve and grieve,
I would know, will she ever
of her own accord
think it moving, think of me
with pity? could it be so?
Meaning: However much I grieve, I would like to know whether you might ever, of your own accord, come to feel pity for me.
Commentary: Love Poems 657

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Love"
However much he grieves, would the beloved ever of her own accord come to feel pity for him because of it? The poet longs to know. The poem expresses the anxious heart of one who loves and wants to know whether his endless grieving could ever reach her.

First line, “nageku tomo”: though I grieve; tomo marks a concessive supposition.
Second line, “shiraba ya hito no”: baya expresses one's own wish: I would like to know. The poem breaks after the second line.
Third line, “onozukara”: of itself, naturally.
Fourth line, “aware to omou”: aware is pity, being moved.
Fifth line, “koto mo aru beki”: whether such a thing might be, the content of shiraba ya in the second line.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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