Aware to mo kokoro ni omou hodo bakari iwarenu beku wa toi koso wa seme

あはれとも心に思ふほどばかり
言はれぬべくは訪ひこそはせめ

Roma-ji: Aware to mo kokoro ni omou hodo bakari iwarenu beku wa toi koso wa seme
English Translation: How much I feel for
you, all I hold in my heart,
if only that much
I could put into words, then
surely I would come to call.
Meaning: If only I could put into words as much as I feel in my heart for you, I would surely come to console you.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 803

Headnote: "In reply to someone grieving over a relative, who had written reproaching me, asking why I had not called"
Someone grieving over a misfortune in the family wrote reproachfully asking why the poet had not called, and he composed this in reply. If I could put into words as much as I feel for you in my heart, I would surely call, he says, explaining that his feelings ran too deep for words. Like the preceding poem, it explains a delayed visit of condolence.

First line, “aware to mo”: that I feel for you.
Second line, “kokoro ni omou”: think in my heart.
Third line, “hodo bakari”: as much as that.
Fourth line, “iwarenu beku wa”: re expresses possibility, if I could say it.
Fifth line, “toi koso wa seme”: koso is answered by the perfective me; I would call on you, but.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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