Kakikurasu namida no ame no ashi shigemi sakari ni mono no nagekashiki kana

かきくらす涙の雨の脚しげみ
盛りに物の嘆かしきかな

Roma-ji: Kakikurasu namida no ame no ashi shigemi sakari ni mono no nagekashiki kana
English Translation: Darkening the sky,
the rain of my tears pours down
with such heavy force
that at its very height my
brooding grows so grievous now!
Meaning: The rain of my tears pours down so hard from a darkened sky that my brooding swells to its very height, and how grievous it is!
Commentary: Love Poems 670

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Love"
Like rain pouring down from a darkened sky, the poet's tears flow on without pause, and so the brooding of love swells to its height, as though this were its season. The fierceness of the rain of tears is overlaid with the height of his brooding.
Taking up 'the rain upon my sleeves grows heavier' of the preceding poem, this one too likens tears to rain in namida no ame no ashi shigemi, singing on as the rain grows ever heavier.

First line, “kakikurasu”: to darken the sky, or the heart.
Second line, “namida no ame no”: of the rain of tears.
Third line, “ashi shigemi”: ame no ashi is the force of the rain, and mi a suffix of cause: since it pours so hard.
Fourth line, “sakari ni mono no”: sakari is the height, the time when something is at its fullest.
Fifth line, “nagekashiki kana”: nagekashi is grievous, and kana exclamatory.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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