Kaku shitsutsu yo o ya tsukusamu takasago no onoe ni tateru matsu naranaku ni - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

かくしつつ世をや尽くさむ高砂の
尾上に立てる松ならなくに

Roma-ji: Kaku shitsutsu yo o ya tsukusamu takasago no onoe ni tateru matsu naranaku ni
English Translation: Living on like this,
shall I spend out all my days?
I am no pine
standing on the peak
of Takasago's hills.
Meaning: Going on like this, shall I simply use up my life? And I am no pine standing on the peak of Takasago, to live so long.
Commentary: Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Poems I 908

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The speaker laments that he may end his life having accomplished nothing, though he is no pine of Takasago able to live for ages. Contrasting the long-lived pine with the limited human span, the poem expresses unease at life slipping away. The author is unknown.

First line "kaku shitsutsu" means "passing time like this," suggesting days without change.
Second line "yo o ya tsukusamu" closes the question ya with the attributive of mu: shall I use up my life? The poem pauses here.
Third line "takasago no" is a poetic place in Harima famous for its pines. The next poem, 909, also sings of the pine of Takasago.
Fourth line "onoe ni tateru" means standing on the peak.
Fifth line "matsu naranaku ni" is the nominalized negative naku with ni, "though I am no pine." It ends in the same form as the last line of the next poem, "tomo naranaku ni," so the two echo each other.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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