Ika ni sen sono samidare no nagori yori yagate oyamanu sode no shizuku o

いかにせんその五月雨の名残より
やがて小止まぬ袖の雫を

Roma-ji: Ika ni sen sono samidare no nagori yori yagate oyamanu sode no shizuku o
English Translation: What am I to do?
Since that night of early summer rain
and what it left behind,
the drops upon my sleeves
have never once let up.
Meaning: What am I to do? Ever since the lingering memory of that night of early summer rain, the drops on my sleeves have never once ceased.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1258

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "One hundred and ten love poems"
What am I to do? the poet asks; ever since the memory of that night of early summer rain, the drops on his sleeves have never ceased.
Unable to forget meeting on a night of early summer rain, he sings of tears that have not dried since. The continuous rain and the endless tears are laid together, raindrops and drops on the sleeve becoming one.

First line, “ika ni sen”: what shall I do?, a lament breaking after the first line.
Second line, “sono samidare no”: of that early summer rain, the night of their meeting.
Third line, “nagori yori”: from its lingering trace.
Fourth line, “yagate oyamanu”: oyamu is to let up a little; never letting up since.
Fifth line, “sode no shizuku o”: the drops of tears on the sleeve, echoing the rain, the inversion giving the object of the first line.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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