classic waka stream

さのみやは袂に影を宿すべき
弱し心よ月な眺めそ
Roma-ji

Sa nomi ya wa tamoto ni kage o yadosu beki yowashi kokoro yo tsuki na nagame so

English Translation
Should I always so
let the moonlight come and dwell
on my tear-soaked sleeves?
O weak heart of mine, I say,
do not gaze upon the moon.
Meaning
Must I always let the moonlight lodge on my tear-soaked sleeves? O weak heart of mine, gaze at the moon no more.
Commentary
Miscellaneous Poems 1408

Headnote: none
Must he always let the moonlight lodge on his tear-soaked sleeves? Weak heart, gaze at the moon no more, the poet chides himself.
He scolds the weakness of a heart that weeps each time he sees the moon, the moon reflected in his tears. Loving the moon yet chiding a heart that drowns in it, the struggle of one in practice shows through.

First line, “sa nomi ya wa”: ya wa is rhetorical, "only thus?"
Second line, “tamoto ni kage o”: the moonlight, on my sleeves wet with tears.
Third line, “yadosu beki”: should I let it lodge? I should not; the poem breaks here.
Fourth line, “yowashi kokoro yo”: O weak heart, an address.
Fifth line, “tsuki na nagame so”: na ... so is a prohibition, "do not gaze at the moon."
Author
Saigyō
Source
Sankashu
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