Oinureba saranu wakare mo ari to ieba iyoiyo mimaku hoshiki kimi kana - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

老いぬればさらぬ別れもありと言へば
いよいよ見まくほしき君かな

Roma-ji: Oinureba saranu wakare mo ari to ieba iyoiyo mimaku hoshiki kimi kana
English Translation: Now I am old,
and they say there is a parting
none can escape;
all the more I long to see
you, my dearest one.
Meaning: Now that I am old, and they say there is a parting none can escape, I long all the more to see you.
Commentary: Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Poems I 900

Headnote: "When the princess, mother of Narihira no Ason, was living at Nagaoka, Narihira, busy with court service, could seldom visit her. Around the twelfth month a letter came from her marked urgent; when he opened it, there were no words, only this poem"
When Narihira's mother lived at Nagaoka, he was busy with court service and could seldom visit. Around the twelfth month a letter came from her marked urgent, and when he opened it there were no words, only this poem. Since in old age there is the parting none can escape, she longs all the more to see him, a poignant expression of love for her son.
The author, "the princess, mother of Narihira no Ason," is Princess Ito, a daughter of Emperor Kanmu who became the consort of Prince Abo and bore Ariwara no Narihira.
This poem and Narihira's reply in the next poem also appear in Episode 84 of The Tales of Ise and are famous as an exchange conveying the love between mother and son.

First line "oinureba" joins the perfective nu and ba: when one has grown old. It echoes the opening of poem 903 in this book, "oinu tote," in taking age as its starting point.
Second line "saranu wakare mo" is the parting that cannot be avoided, namely death. The next poem, 901, answers with the same phrase.
Third line "ari to ieba" offers what people say as the ground of her feeling.
Fourth line "iyoiyo mimaku": maku is the nominalized form of mu, "the wish to see."
Fifth line "hoshiki kimi kana" closes with the exclamatory kana, deeply voicing her love for her son.
Author: Princess Ito
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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