Koiwabite hitori fuseya ni yomosugara otsuru namida ya Otonashi no taki - Shika Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

恋ひわびて独り伏せ屋に夜もすがら
落つる涙やおとなしの滝

Roma-ji: Koiwabite hitori fuseya ni yomosugara otsuru namida ya Otonashi no taki
English Translation: Pining for my love,
alone in my lowly hut
all the long night through,
are these tears that fall from me
the silent Otonashi Falls
Meaning: Pining with love, alone in my humble hut all through the night, are these tears that keep falling the soundless Otonashi Falls?
Commentary: Book Seven Love Poems I 232

The poet likens the tears he sheds all night alone in a humble hut, suffering from love, to the Otonashi Falls. Within the wit of expressing silent, secret tears through a waterfall whose very name means "soundless," the loneliness of quiet weeping in love seeps through.

The first line, "koiwabite" (pining with love), shows the depth of love's suffering.
The second line, "hitori fuseya ni," expresses the misery of sleeping alone in a humble, low-roofed hut.
The third line, "yomosugara" (all night long), shows the tears flowing without pause.
The fourth line, "otsuru namida ya," poses a question with "ya." Where the opening poem, 187, began with the burning fire of love, the book ends with the tears of love as flowing water, closing on the contrast of fire and water.
The final line, "Otonashi no taki," ends on a noun, a pivot word joining the poetic place Otonashi Falls with "otonashi" (soundless), likening silent tears to a waterfall.
Source: Shika Wakashu
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