Tokiwa nasu iwaya wa ima mo arikeredo sumikeru hito zo tsune nakarikeru

常磐なす石室は今もありけれど
住みける人ぞ常なかりける

Roma-ji: Tokiwa nasu iwaya wa ima mo arikeredo sumikeru hito zo tsune nakarikeru
English Translation: Like the enduring rock,
the rock cave still remains today,
standing as it was—
but the one who dwelt in it
was not lasting, but has gone.
Meaning: The rock cave, changeless as eternal stone, still stands today—but the one who lived there was not so lasting.
Commentary: Book Three Miscellaneous Poems 308

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Three poems composed by the monk Hakutsū on going to the province of Kii and seeing the rock cave of Miho"
This is the second of Hakutsū's three poems. The changeless rock cave still remains, but the one who lived there has passed from the world—contrasting eternal nature with fleeting human life. The monk's sense of impermanence appears in a concise contrast.
The monk Hakutsū's three poems form a sequence written on visiting the rock cave of Miho in Kii, recalling Kume no Wakugo, who was said to have lived there.
The poet, the monk Hakutsū, lived in the Nara period, but little is known of him.

First line "Like the enduring rock": tokiwa is eternal, unchanging rock, and nasu means "like."
Second line "the rock cave still remains today" means it stands even now.
Third line "standing as it was": the upper half states the cave's permanence.
Fourth line "but the one who dwelt in it": zo is an emphatic binding particle concluded by the attributive keru at the end.
Fifth line "was not lasting": tsune nakari means not constant, fleeting. The tokiwa of the first line and tsune nakari of the last form a pair, heightening the contrast of eternity and impermanence.
Author: Hakutsū
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Hadasusuki Kume no wakugo ga imashikeru Miho no iwaya wa miredo akanu kamo
Next Poem: Iwayato ni tateru matsu no ki na o mireba mukashi no hito o aimiru gotoshi