Ika ni semu yamada ni kakou kakishiba no shibashi no ma dani kakurenaki yo o - Kinyo Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

いかにせむ山田に囲ふ垣柴の
しばしの間だに隠れなき世を

Roma-ji: Ika ni semu yamada ni kakou kakishiba no shibashi no ma dani kakurenaki yo o
English Translation: What am I to do
in this world where, like the brush
fencing mountain fields,
not even for a short while
can I hide myself away
Meaning: What am I to do in this world where, like the brushwood fence around a mountain field, I cannot stay hidden even for a little while?
Commentary: Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems I 559

What is she to do, the poet asks, in this world where, like the brushwood fence around a mountain field, she cannot remain hidden even for a moment? She laments the constraint of a world where one cannot hide from people's eyes and gossip.
The author, Sagami, was a lady-in-waiting known by this name because she had been the wife of Ōe no Kinsuke, Governor of Sagami. She served Princess Shūshi. One of her poems appears in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.

First line, 'ika ni semu', means what shall I do; the poem breaks after the first line.
Second line, 'yamada ni kakou', means fencing a mountain field, enclosing it to keep out animals.
Third line, 'kakishiba no', means of the brushwood for the fence; up to here forms a preface leading by repeated sound to shibashi in the fourth line.
Fourth line, 'shibashi no ma dani', means even for a short while, the particle dani naming something slight to suggest something greater.
Final line, 'kakurenaki yo o', means this world where nothing can be hidden, matching the brushwood fence that cannot hide the field. It closes in inverted form after ika ni semu in the first line.
Author: Sagami
Source: Kinyo Wakashu
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