Hi o fureba tamoto no ame no ashi soite harubeku mo naki waga kokoro kana

日をふれば袂の雨の脚添ひて
晴るべくもなき我が心かな

Roma-ji: Hi o fureba tamoto no ame no ashi soite harubeku mo naki waga kokoro kana
English Translation: As the days fall by,
the rain upon my sleeves grows
heavier in its fall,
and never likely to clear
is this heart that I bear!
Meaning: As the days go by, the rain of tears on my sleeves falls ever harder, and my heart shows no sign of clearing.
Commentary: Love Poems 669

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Love"
As the days go by, the rain of tears soaking the poet's sleeves falls ever harder, and his heart shows no sign of clearing. Fure joins the passing of days with the falling of rain, and ame no ashi, the force of the rain, and haru, to clear, are strung together as associated words of rain, laying tears and an unclearing heart over a scene of rain.
The next poem, 670, also sings of the force of the rain in namida no ame no ashi shigemi, so the two poems stand side by side through the rain of tears.

First line, “hi o fureba”: fure is a pivot word joining days passing with rain falling.
Second line, “tamoto no ame no”: tamoto no ame, rain on the sleeves, likens tears to rain.
Third line, “ashi soite”: ame no ashi is the force of the rain: its force growing.
Fourth line, “harubeku mo naki”: showing no sign of clearing; haru, associated with rain, is overlaid with a heart clearing.
Fifth line, “waga kokoro kana”: kana is exclamatory, lamenting the heart that will not clear.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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