老いぬればさらぬ別れのありといへば
いよいよみまくほしき君かな
いよいよみまくほしき君かな
- Roma-ji
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Oinureba saranu wakare no ari to ieba
iyoiyo mimaku hoshiki kimi kana - English Translation
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Now that I am old,
They say there is a parting
None can turn aside—
All the more I long to see
You, my dear and cherished one.
- Meaning
- Now that I have grown old, they say there is a parting that cannot be avoided. All the more, I long to see you, my dear one.
- Commentary
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84. The Unavoidable Parting
Long ago there was a man. Though his rank was low, his mother was of the imperial family. She lived at Nagaoka, the former capital near Kyoto. The man served at court in the capital, and so he could not often go to visit his mother. As he was her only child, she cherished him greatly.
Around the twelfth month a letter arrived from his mother saying that the matter was urgent. The man was startled and read the letter.
The poem was written in that letter from his mother.
The poem expresses the wish of the mother, whose death was already near, that she might see her son once more.
This poem is also included in the Kokinshū.
- Source
- Ise Monogatari
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Yo no naka ni saranu wakare no naku mogana
chiyo mo to inoru hito no ko no tame ni