Onozukara sa koso wa are to omou ma ni makoto ni hito no towazu narinuru - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

おのづからさこそはあれと思ふ間に
まことに人の訪はずなりぬる

Roma-ji: Onozukara sa koso wa are to omou ma ni makoto ni hito no towazu narinuru
English Translation: Just by chance, I thought,
such things are bound to happen—
and while I thought so,
in truth that person of mine
stopped coming to call at all
Meaning: While I was telling myself it was only chance, that such things happen, he truly stopped coming to see me.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Love Poems V 1399

Headnote: "To someone who had long stopped visiting."
This is the fifth poem of the sequence on a severed bond. While she was thinking the lack of visits was only chance, he truly stopped coming. According to the headnote, it was sent to someone who had long stopped visiting.
The author, "Mother of Major Counselor Tsunenobu," was the wife of Minister of Popular Affairs Minamoto no Michikata and the mother of Major Counselor Minamoto no Tsunenobu.

The first line, "onozukara," means "by chance."
The second line, "sa koso wa are to," means "that such things happen." She tries to think the lack of visits only temporary.
The third line, "omou ma ni," means "while I thought so."
The fourth line, "makoto ni hito no," means "truly, that person." The provisional thought of the second line, "such things happen," is set against the reality of the fourth, "truly."
The last line, "towazu narinuru," means "has stopped visiting." Trailing off in the attributive form, it leaves a lingering feeling. Where the preceding poem sang of one who remembered, this one sings of one who drifted into forgetting without her noticing.
Author: Mother of Minamoto no Tsunenobu
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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