Now that we have met
and made our hearts as one—
like river water
that parts around an island
yet flows on without end.

Meaning

Now that we have met and made our hearts as one, like river water that parts around an island yet flows on without end, so I would have our bond endure.

Commentary

Episode Twenty-Two: "Though it is bitter"

A man and a woman, not deeply bound to one another, parted over some slight occasion.
Though they separated from their uncertain bond, they were fortunate to confirm each other’s feelings and to restore their relationship, and this process is portrayed in candid poems.

This poem is the man’s reply to the woman’s poem, "Though it is bitter, I cannot yet forget you, for all your cruelty; and so, even in blame, still do I long for you."
Though he sent this poem, he went to her at once when night fell.
He too had not been convinced of their parting, and so answered her poem.

Source

Ise Monogatari

Other

Like clouds that rise and stand in mid-air, leaving no trace— so has my fleeting self come utterly to nothing.
Though it is bitter, I cannot yet forget you, for all your cruelty; and so, even in blame, still do I long for you.
If autumn nights— a thousand of them— be counted as one, and we should lie through eight thousand nights, would there ever come a time of weariness?
Though autumn nights— a thousand of them— be made into one, still would words remain, and the cock perhaps would crow.

Now that we have met and made our hearts as one— like river water that parts around an island yet flows on without end.

Now that we have met
and made our hearts as one—
like river water
that parts around an island
yet flows on without end.