Ika ni sen kazu naranu mi ni shitagawade tsutsumu sode yori amaru namida o - Kinyo Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

いかにせむ数ならぬ身に従はで
つつむ袖より余る涙を

Roma-ji: Ika ni sen kazu naranu mi ni shitagawade tsutsumu sode yori amaru namida o
English Translation: What am I to do?
heedless of my humble state,
they will not obey,
overflowing from the sleeve
that hides them, these tears
Meaning: What am I to do with these tears that, heedless of my lowly station, overflow the very sleeve with which I hide them?
Commentary: Book Seven Love Poems I 384

Though the poet tries to hide a love unfit for one of no account, the tears overflow the sleeve, heedless of that station, and he asks what to do with them. The poem conveys a love beyond one's rank that cannot be held in.
Some manuscripts give the headnote 'Composed on setting one's heart on someone one ought not to.'

First line, 'ika ni sen', means what am I to do, and the poem breaks after the first line. By inversion it leads on to 'namida o' in the final line.
Second line, 'kazu naranu mi ni', means to one of no account. It is the same as the second line of poem 371 in this book.
Third line, 'shitagawade', means not obeying, using the negative conjunctive de, as the tears overflow without regard to station.
Fourth line, 'tsutsumu sode yori', means from the sleeve that hides them. Like 'hitome tsutsumi' in poem 376 in this book, it sings of hiding from others' eyes.
Final line, 'amaru namida o', means the tears that overflow.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Kinyo Wakashu
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