classic waka stream

程経れば同じ都のうちだにも
おぼつかなさは問はまほしきを
Roma-ji

Hodo fureba onaji miyako no uchi dani mo obotsukanasa wa towamahoshiki o

English Translation
When time has gone by,
even in the very same
capital we share,
how one wants to ask and know
of the other's unknown ways.
Meaning
When some time has passed, one longs to ask after the other even within the same capital—how much more when we are far apart.
Commentary
Miscellaneous Poems 1091

Headnote: "When I had resolved to go on a distant pilgrimage, people came and composed poems on the topic 'Parting for a distant journey'"
When Saigyō had resolved on a distant pilgrimage, people came and composed on "Parting for a distant journey." After a while, even within the same capital one grows anxious and wants to ask after another, he says; how much more when far apart, lamenting the loneliness of parting.
Dani leads to the inference that if this is so even nearby, it will be all the more so at a distance, expressing regret at leaving those who came to see him off.

First line, “hodo fureba”: when time has passed.
Second line, “onaji miyako no”: of the same capital, close at hand.
Third line, “uchi dani mo”: dani infers, "even within it."
Fourth line, “obotsukanasa wa”: the anxious uncertainty about how the other fares.
Fifth line, “towamahoshiki o”: mahoshi expresses wish, o is a lingering concessive, "though one wants to ask," leaving the sadness of distant parting in the air.
Author
Saigyō
Source
Sankashu
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