Seki mo aenu namida no kawa wa hayakeredo mi no ukikusa wa nagarezarikeri - Kinyo Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

塞きもあへぬ涙の川は速けれど
身のうき草は流れざりけり

Roma-ji: Seki mo aenu namida no kawa wa hayakeredo mi no ukikusa wa nagarezarikeri
English Translation: The river of tears
that I cannot dam or hold
runs swift, and yet still
the floating weeds of my grief
will not be carried away
Meaning: The river of my tears, which I cannot hold back, runs swiftly, yet the floating weeds of my sorrowful self are never carried away.
Commentary: Book Ten Miscellaneous Poems II 609

The tears the poet cannot hold back run like a swift river, yet the floating weeds of his own sorrow are never carried off. Contrasting the swift river of tears with the weeds that stay where they are, he expresses a grief that no amount of weeping can wash away.
The author, Toshiyori, is Minamoto no Toshiyori, a son of the Major Counselor Minamoto no Tsunenobu, who became Head of the Carpentry Office. He was the compiler of this anthology, and his personal collection is the Sanboku Kika Shū. One of his poems appears in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.

First line, 'seki mo aenu', means that cannot be dammed, the verb seku with aezu expressing what cannot be held back.
Second line, 'namida no kawa wa', means the river of tears, likening overflowing tears to a river. Namidagawa, river of tears, also appears in the third line of 612 in this book.
Third line, 'hayakeredo', means though it runs swift, the particle do expressing contrast.
Fourth line, 'mi no ukikusa wa', means the floating weeds of myself, joining ukikusa, floating weeds, with uki, sorrowful.
Final line, 'nagarezarikeri', means they are not carried away, the negative zu followed by the exclamatory keri. River, flowing and floating weeds are associated words.
Author: Minamoto no Toshiyori
Source: Kinyo Wakashu
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