Yoshi saraba nochi no yo to dani tanome oke tsurasa ni taenu mi to mo koso nare - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

よしさらば後の世とだに頼めおけ
つらさに堪へぬ身ともこそなれ

Roma-ji: Yoshi saraba nochi no yo to dani tanome oke tsurasa ni taenu mi to mo koso nare
English Translation: Very well, if so,
then at least for the next life
leave me a promise,
for I may yet become one
who cannot bear this cruelty
Meaning: Very well, then—at least promise me the life to come. For I may yet become one who cannot bear your coldness any longer.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems III 1232

Headnote: "Sent to a woman."
This is the thirteenth poem of the sequence on resenting a cold-hearted lover and enduring the pain. Very well, then—at least leave a promise for the next life, for he may yet become one who cannot bear this pain. According to the headnote, it was sent to a woman, and the next poem is her reply.
The author, "Master of the Empress Dowager's Household Shunzei," is Fujiwara no Shunzei. A son of the Provisional Middle Counselor Fujiwara no Toshitada, he served as Master of the Empress Dowager's Household, compiled the Senzaishū at the command of Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa, and was the father of Teika.
The author of the next poem is the mother of Fujiwara no Teika; the woman in this exchange later became Shunzei's wife.

The first line, "yoshi saraba," means "very well, then." It opens with resignation: if we cannot meet in this world.
The second line, "nochi no yo to dani," means "at least for the next life." "Dani" shows the least of wishes. Taking up the preceding poems on whether there is reward in living in the same world, it moves hope on to the life to come.
The third line, "tanome oke," means "leave me a promise," with a pause after the third line. It uses in the imperative the same words as "tanome oku" in 1202 of this book.
The fourth line, "tsurasa ni taenu," means "that cannot bear the pain." It is the reverse of "uki ni taetaru" in 1228, showing a self that can endure no more.
The last line, "mi to mo koso nare," means "I may become such a one." "Mo koso" expresses concern that something undesirable may happen. Since he may die of the pain, he presses her for at least a promise for the next life. Where the opening poem wished for a life ending today, this poem near the end of the book stretches its hope into the life to come.
Author: Fujiwara no Shunzei
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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