Kimi kozu wa neya e mo iraji komurasaki waga motoyui ni shimo wa oku tomo - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

君来ずは閨へも入らじ濃紫
我が元結に霜は置くとも

Roma-ji: Kimi kozu wa neya e mo iraji komurasaki waga motoyui ni shimo wa oku tomo
English Translation: If you do not come,
I shall not go to my bed,
though on deep purple
cords that bind my hair there should
gather the white frost of night.
Meaning: If you do not come, I will not go into my bedchamber—not even if frost settles on the deep purple cords that bind my hair.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 693

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poem speaks of a single-minded waiting: until her lover comes she will not enter her bedchamber, but will wait outside even if frost settles on the cords binding her hair. The contrast of white frost on deep purple cords vividly depicts the cold of the late night and the figure of the one who waits.
Part of the sequence on waiting, it leads into "kimi o koso mate" in the next poem, 694, putting forward the posture of waiting ever more strongly.

The first line, "kimi kozu wa," means "if you do not come," a hypothesis.
The second line, "neya e mo iraji," means "I will not even go into my bedchamber," the negative volitional "ji" expressing strong resolve; the poem pauses here.
The third line, "komurasaki," means deep purple and gives the color of the hair cord in the fourth line.
The fourth line, "waga motoyui ni," means "on the cord binding my hair," showing her waiting outside.
The final line, "shimo wa oku tomo," means "even though frost should settle," a concessive hypothesis expressing her resolve to wait deep into the night, in inverted relation to the second line.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Kokin Wakashu
Prev Poem: Tsukuyo yoshi yo yoshi to hito ni tsugeyaraba ko chō ni nitari matazu shimo arazu
Next Poem: Miyagino no motoara no kohagi tsuyu o omomi kaze o matsu goto kimi o koso mate