Wasurete wa yume ka to zo omou omoiki ya yuki fumiwakete kimi o mimu to wa - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

忘れては夢かとぞ思ふ思ひきや
雪踏みわけて君を見むとは

Roma-ji: Wasurete wa yume ka to zo omou omoiki ya yuki fumiwakete kimi o mimu to wa
English Translation: When I forget, I think
it must surely be a dream;
did I ever think
that treading through the snow
I would come to see you so?
Meaning: When for a moment I forget, I think it must be a dream. Did I ever imagine that I would tread my way through the snow to see you like this?
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems II 970

Headnote: "I used to visit Prince Koretaka, and after he had taken the tonsure and was living at a place called Ono, I went to pay my respects in the first month. Because it was at the foot of Mount Hiei, the snow was very deep. I forced my way to his cell and paid my respects; he was so lonely and it was all so sad that, after I had returned, I composed this and sent it to him"
Narihira sent this after visiting Prince Koretaka, who had taken the tonsure and lived in seclusion at Ono at the foot of Mount Hiei, making his way through the snow in the first month and seeing the prince's lonely dwelling. The shock and sorrow of seeing the prince he had served so closely in such changed circumstances are contained in the words "I think it must be a dream."
The episode also appears in section 83 of The Tales of Ise and is famous as a poem conveying the deep bond between lord and follower. It answers Prince Koretaka's own poem 945 in this book, which sings of life on a mountain peak.
It shares the construction "did I ever think ... that" with Ono no Takamura's poem 961 in this book, expressing astonishment at an unforeseen situation.
The author, "Narihira no Ason," is Ariwara no Narihira; Ason is an honorific title. The son of Prince Abo and of Princess Ito, a daughter of Emperor Kanmu, he is one of the Six Poetic Immortals and the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals, and is identified with the hero of The Tales of Ise.

The first line, "when I forget," refers to forgetting for a moment the fact that the prince has become a monk.
The second line, "it must surely be a dream," uses zo with the attributive omou; the poem breaks after this line.
The third line, "did I ever think," uses ki (past) and ya (rhetorical question), answered by to wa at the end. It is the same phrase as the opening of 961 in this book.
The fourth line, "treading through the snow," describes the actual journey through the deep snow at the foot of Mount Hiei.
The last line, "I would come to see you so?", states by inversion the content of "did I ever think."
Author: Ariwara no Narihira
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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