Shinuru inochi iki mo ya suru to kokoromi ni tama no o bakari awamu to iwanamu - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

死ぬる命生きもやすると試みに
玉の緒ばかり逢はむと言はなむ

Roma-ji: Shinuru inochi iki mo ya suru to kokoromi ni tama no o bakari awamu to iwanamu
English Translation: My life that is dying
might perhaps return to life;
so, just as a trial,
for a jewel-string's brief span,
say only you will meet me.
Meaning: My life, now dying of love, might perhaps come back. So just as a trial, tell me you will meet me, even for the briefest moment.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 568

Headnote: "A poem from the poetry contest held at the residence of the Empress in the Kanpyō era"
The poet asks the beloved to say, just as a trial, that they will meet even for the briefest moment, since his life, dying for love, might then come back. The phrase tama no o carries both "life" and "a short time," and with some exaggeration he voices an earnest plea for at least a word of promise. It was composed for the Kanpyō-era Empress's poetry contest and is placed within the run of poems from that contest.
Fujiwara no Okikaze was a poet of the early Heian period, a great-grandson of Fujiwara no Hamanari and the son of Fujiwara no Michinari. He served as Secretary of Sagami and Provisional Senior Secretary of Shimōsa. He was also known as a master of the koto and is one of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals.

First line, "shinuru inochi": a life about to end because of love. The line has six syllables, one more than the norm.
Second line, "iki mo ya suru to": ya is an interrogative binding particle, "whether it might come back to life." "Dying" and "living" form a pair.
Third line, "kokoromi ni": "as a trial"; the main text writes the word with the characters for "heart" and mi.
Fourth line, "tama no o bakari": tama no o is the cord that strings jewels, meaning life and, from the shortness of the cord, a brief moment. Here it means "even for the briefest time," echoing "life" in the first line.
Fifth line, "awamu to iwanamu": namu expresses a wish directed at another, closing with "please say you will meet me." There is poignancy in asking not for a meeting itself but only for the words.
Author: Fujiwara no Okikaze
Source: Kokin Wakashu
Prev Poem: Kimi kouru namida no toko ni michinureba miotsukushi to zo ware wa narinuru
Next Poem: Wabinureba shiite wasuremu to omoedomo yume to iu mono zo hitodanome naru