Ima wa haya koishinamashi o aimimu to tanomeshi yume zo inochi narikeru - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

今ははや恋ひ死なましを逢ひ見むと
頼めし夢ぞ命なりける

Roma-ji: Ima wa haya koishinamashi o aimimu to tanomeshi yume zo inochi narikeru
English Translation: By now, I would have
surely died of longing, but
the dream that promised
we would meet each other soon,
that alone has been my life.
Meaning: By now I would surely have died of longing; it was the dream that gave me hope we would meet that has kept me alive.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 613

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poet says that by rights he would have died of longing long ago, but his life has been sustained because a dream gave him hope that they would meet. In the paradox that a fleeting dream is what supports his life, the poignancy of one living in an unrequited love shows through.
Kiyohara no Fukayabu was a poet of the early to mid Heian period, the grandfather of Kiyohara no Motosuke and great-grandfather of Sei Shōnagon. He served as Assistant in the Bureau of Palace Artisans and was known as a skilled koto player.
The main text of the fourth line reads "tanomeshi yume zo," which does not agree with the reading line "tanomeshi koto zo." The main text is followed here, and the word is given as yume, "dream."

First line, "ima wa haya": "by now, already."
Second line, "koishinamashi o": mashi is the counterfactual auxiliary and o a concessive particle: "I would surely have died of longing." The poem breaks here.
Third line, "aimimu to": aimiru means to meet and share a bond, and mu expresses intention, "that we would meet."
Fourth line, "tanomeshi yume zo": tanomu here, in its lower bigrade conjugation, means to give hope, to make someone rely. Shi is the attributive of the past auxiliary ki. The binding particle zo pairs with keru in the final line. Like "yume chō mono wa tanomisometeki" in 553 of this book, it sings of a heart that relies on dreams.
Fifth line, "inochi narikeru": keru is the attributive resolving zo, expressing realization, closing with the recognition that the dream has been the support of his life. Like 609 of this book, which named waking from a dream as more regrettable than losing life, it links dreams and life.
Author: Kiyohara no Fukayabu
Source: Kokin Wakashu
Prev Poem: Ware nomi zo kanashikarikeru hikoboshi mo awade sugoseru toshi shi nakereba
Next Poem: Tanometsutsu awade toshi furu itsuwari ni korinu kokoro o hito wa shiranamu