Through passing years
in this village I have dwelt—
should I now depart,
will it become even more
a deep grass field of neglect?

Meaning

If I leave this village where I have lived through many years, will it become even more overgrown, like a field of deep grass?

Commentary

123 Through Passing Years

There was a certain man. He had long visited a woman who lived in the village of Fukakusa in Yamashiro (now the northern part of Fushimi in Kyoto), but gradually he grew weary of her.
The poem was composed by the man and sent to the woman.

Having gone to her for many years, he no longer felt displeasure toward her, yet neither did he find her especially engaging. With such feelings, he likely used this poem to suggest their parting.

Source

Ise Monogatari

Other

That blossom hat sewn by the bush warbler—no, I have no need of it; place your thought upon me, and I will dry and return.
At Yamashiro, the jewel water of Ide I cupped in my hands— yet the trust I placed in you has come to nothing at all.
If it becomes a field, I will turn into a quail and cry there in grief— would you not come, even then, if only for the hunt?
What I have in mind I will not speak, but let it come to an end thus— for there is no other one whose heart is the same as mine.

Through passing years in this village I have dwelt— should I now depart, will it become even more a deep grass field of neglect?

Through passing years
in this village I have dwelt—
should I now depart,
will it become even more
a deep grass field of neglect?