Nagameorite tsuki no kage ni zo yo o ba miru sumu mo sumanu mo sa narikeri to wa

眺め居りて月の影にぞ世をば見る
すむもすまぬもさなりけりとは

Roma-ji: Nagameorite tsuki no kage ni zo yo o ba miru sumu mo sumanu mo sa narikeri to wa
English Translation: Gazing at the moon,
it is by its light, I find,
that I see the world:
dwelling, not dwelling, bright, dim—
all of it is just like this.
Meaning: Gazing on, it is by the moon's light that I see the world: whether one dwells in it or not, whether it shines clear or not—it is all just so.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1406

Headnote: none
Gazing at the moon, it is by its light that he sees the world: whether the moon is clear or not, whether one dwells in the world or not, all is like that, the poet says.
Sumu pivots on "dwell" and "be clear," overlaying the moon's clearing and clouding with living in or leaving the world, realizing through the moon the nature of this transient world. It expresses a recluse's state of contemplating the world through the moon.

First line, “nagameorite”: as I gaze; the line has an extra syllable.
Second line, “tsuki no kage ni zo”: zo is answered by the attributive miru.
Third line, “yo o ba miru”: I see the world; the poem breaks here.
Fourth line, “sumu mo sumanu mo”: sumu pivots on "dwell" and "be clear."
Fifth line, “sa narikeri to wa”: that it is so, the inversion giving what he realizes.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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