classic waka stream

後れゐて涙に沈む古里を
魂の影にもあはれとや見ん
Roma-ji

Okureite namida ni shizumu furusato o tama no kage ni mo aware to ya min

English Translation
Left behind, we sink
in our tears in the old home;
does the spirit too,
the shade of the one now gone,
look on it with pity?
Meaning
The old home, where those left behind are sunk in tears, does the spirit of the departed look upon it too with pity?
Commentary
Miscellaneous Poems 823

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "After the death of the Second Rank Lady of the Retired Emperor, when people composed ten poems"
This is the seventh of the ten. Does the spirit of the departed look with pity on the old home where those left behind are sunk in tears? the poet asks, seeing the grief of the bereaved from the side of the departed spirit.

First line, “okureite”: left behind.
Second line, “namida ni shizumu”: sunk in tears.
Third line, “furusato o”: the home where she lived.
Fourth line, “tama no kage ni mo”: tama no kage is the spirit of the dead.
Fifth line, “aware to ya min”: ya is answered by n; does it look on with pity?
Author
Saigyō
Source
Sankashu
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