Chiri tsukade yugameru michi o naoku nashite yukuyuku hito o yo ni tsukaebaya

塵つかでゆがめる道を直くなして
行く行く人を世に仕へばや

Roma-ji: Chiri tsukade yugameru michi o naoku nashite yukuyuku hito o yo ni tsukaebaya
English Translation: Unstained by the dust,
the roads that bend and wander
I would make straight again,
and for all who pass along them
I would serve the world, I pray.
Meaning: Untouched by the dust, I would straighten the crooked roads and serve the world for all those who pass along them.
Commentary: One Hundred Poems 1509

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Ten Poems of Reflection"
The seventh of the ten poems of reflection. Unsullied by dust, he would straighten the crooked roads and serve the world for those who travel them.
Straightening crooked roads seems to carry the wish to set right the disorder of the world. It sings of a renunciant's aspiration to serve others without being stained by the dust of the world.

First line, “chiri tsukade”: de is a negative conjunctive, "without being touched by dust."
Second line, “yugameru michi o”: the crooked roads.
Third line, “naoku nashite”: making them straight; the line has an extra syllable.
Fourth line, “yukuyuku hito o”: the people passing along.
Fifth line, “yo ni tsukaebaya”: baya is a wish for oneself, "I would serve the world."
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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