Ware nomi zo waga kokoro o ba itōshimu awarebu hito no naki ni tsukete mo

我のみぞ我が心をばいとほしむ
あはれぶ人のなきにつけても

Roma-ji: Ware nomi zo waga kokoro o ba itōshimu awarebu hito no naki ni tsukete mo
English Translation: It is I alone
who feels tenderness and pity
for this heart of mine—
since there is no one at all
who would show it any care.
Meaning: I alone pity this heart of mine, since there is no one else who will show it any compassion.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1305

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "One hundred and ten love poems"
Since there is no one to pity him, he alone cherishes his own heart, the poet says.
With no one to understand and sympathize with his love's pain, he sings of a loneliness in which he can only comfort himself. Repeating "I" in ware nomi zo waga kokoro o ba expresses a solitude like embracing oneself.

First line, “ware nomi zo”: zo is emphatic, answered by the attributive itōshimu.
Second line, “waga kokoro o ba”: my heart, repeating the "I" of the first line.
Third line, “itōshimu”: to cherish, to pity; the poem breaks here.
Fourth line, “awarebu hito no”: one who pities.
Fifth line, “naki ni tsukete mo”: as there is none, the inversion giving the reason.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
Prev Poem: Saranu dani moto no omoi no taenu mi ni nageki o hito no souru narikeri
Next Poem: Uramiji to omou ware sae tsuraki kana towade suginuru kokorozuyosa o