Shirazariki mi ni amaritaru nageki shite hima naku sode o shiboru beshi to wa

知らざりき身にあまりたる嘆きして
隙なく袖を絞るべしとは

Roma-ji: Shirazariki mi ni amaritaru nageki shite hima naku sode o shiboru beshi to wa
English Translation: I never knew it—
that with a grief too great
for my self to bear,
I would have to wring my sleeves
without a moment's pause.
Meaning: I never knew that, with a grief too great to bear, I would have to wring out my sleeves without a moment's rest.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1334

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "One hundred and ten love poems"
He never knew that, with a grief too great to bear, he would be wringing his sleeves without pause, the poet says.
Like omoiki ya in 1332, the first line declares his surprise at never having foreseen love's depth of pain. The hyperbole of wringing tear-soaked sleeves shows how deep the grief is.

First line, “shirazariki”: ki is past, "I did not know," breaking after the first line.
Second line, “mi ni amaritaru”: too much for me to bear.
Third line, “nageki shite”: grieving.
Fourth line, “hima naku sode o”: my sleeves, without pause.
Fifth line, “shiboru beshi to wa”: that I would have to wring them, the inversion giving the content of the first line.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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