Iro mienu kokoro bakari wa shizumuredo namida wa e koso shinobazarikere - Kinyo Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

色見えぬ心ばかりはしづむれど
涙はえこそ忍ばざりけれ

Roma-ji: Iro mienu kokoro bakari wa shizumuredo namida wa e koso shinobazarikere
English Translation: The heart, which shows no color,
that alone I hold in check,
but my tears, alas,
those I find I can by no means
hide away from sight
Meaning: The heart, which shows no color, I somehow keep subdued; but my tears I could never hold back.
Commentary: Book Eight Love Poems II 444

The poet manages to subdue the heart, which cannot be seen from outside, but the tears could not be held back. Through the contrast between a heart that can be hidden and tears that cannot, the poem shows the limits of hidden love.
Following the preceding poem, 443, in which tears wash away the ink so that nothing can be written, this poem also sings of tears that cannot keep feelings hidden. Poem 450 in this book wishes that love would show its color so it might be known without words, and shares with this poem the theme of a heart whose color does not show.
The author, Kuninobu, is Minamoto no Kuninobu. A son of the Minister of the Right Minamoto no Akifusa, he rose to Provisional Middle Counselor. He was one of the poets of the Horikawa Hundred-Poem Sequences and held poetry contests at his residence.

First line, 'iro mienu', means showing no color, that is, not visible from outside.
Second line, 'kokoro bakari wa', means the heart alone, the particle bakari expressing limitation.
Third line, 'shizumuredo', means though I calm and subdue it, using the concessive do.
Fourth line, 'namida wa e koso', means my tears, by no means, the adverb e paired with the negative in the final line. The particle koso is answered by kere in the final line.
Final line, 'shinobazarikere', means I could not hold them back, closing with kere, the perfective form of the exclamatory keri, in answer to koso in the fourth line.
Author: Minamoto no Kunizane
Source: Kinyo Wakashu
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