Utsutsu to mo yume to mo shiranu yo ni shi areba ari tote ari to tanomubeki mi ka

うつつとも夢とも知らぬ世にしあれば
有りとて有りと頼むべき身か

Roma-ji: Utsutsu to mo yume to mo shiranu yo ni shi areba ari tote ari to tanomubeki mi ka
English Translation: Since this is a world
where we know not if we wake
or only dream,
though I am, can I rely
on being, in such a life?
Meaning: Since this is a world where we cannot tell waking from dreaming, can I trust that I am truly alive just because I live?
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 709

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On impermanence"
In a world where one cannot tell reality from dream, the poet asks whether he can rely on his life merely because he is alive now, deepening the sense that even being alive is uncertain.

Line 1 means "whether waking."
Line 2 means "or dreaming, not knowing," taking up "is the world a dream?" in 705 of this book.
Line 3 means "since it is such a world," shi emphatic, six syllables.
Line 4 means "though I am, that I am," repeating ari.
Line 5 means "am I one who can trust it?" ka rhetorical.
Author: Minamoto no Sanetomo
Source: Kinkaishu
Prev Poem: Kakute nomi arite hakanaki yo no naka o ushi to ya iwamu aware to ya iwamu
Next Poem: Tonikaku ni areba arikeru yo ni shi areba nashi tote mo naki yo o mo furu kamo