Not to be left here,
I follow with my longing
the moon crossing the sky,
since this is not a world where
one may go on dwelling long

Meaning

Not to be left behind, I follow the moon crossing the sky with my longing, since this is no world one may dwell in long.

Commentary

Part Three: Agemaki

　Kaoru spoke this to himself, looking at the moon after Oigimi's death. The wish to follow her and a resigned view of the impermanence of things are mixed in it. His desire to take vows grew stronger, but with Naka no Kimi to look after and duties at court he could not leave the world.

　Okureji is not to be left behind, and expresses the wish to follow the dead. The moon crossing the sky is the moon going down in the west, and suggests where her spirit has gone. Sumu, to dwell, carries sumu, to be clear, which belongs with the moon. Longing after a clear moon is laid over aspiration toward the Pure Land, and his religious cast of mind stands out sharply.

Author

Murasaki Shikibu

Source

Genji Monogatari

Other

Not to be left here, I follow with my longing the moon crossing the sky, since this is not a world where one may go on dwelling long

Not to be left here,
I follow with my longing
the moon crossing the sky,
since this is not a world where
one may go on dwelling long