Kamusabite iwao ni ouru matsu ga ne no kimi ga kokoro wa wasurekanetsu mo

神さびて巌に生ふる松が根の
君が心は忘れかねつも

Roma-ji: Kamusabite iwao ni ouru matsu ga ne no kimi ga kokoro wa wasurekanetsu mo
English Translation: Like the roots of pines
that grow upon the boulders,
old and godlike now,
your heart, my lord, I find
I never can forget
Meaning: Like the roots of pines grown old and hallowed upon great rocks, your steadfast heart is something I can never forget.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts through Things 3047

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts through Things"
Using the roots of an ancient pine gripping great rocks as an introduction, a woman sings that she cannot forget her beloved's steadfast heart. The image of the hallowed pine roots impresses on us the constancy of his heart.
The poet is unknown. Book Twelve, titled the second part of "Love Poems Exchanged Old and New," gathers love poems by people whose names have not come down to us, arranged by category.

Line one, "kamusabite," means "grown old and godlike."
Line two, "iwao ni ouru," means "growing on great rocks."
Line three, "matsu ga ne no," means "like the roots of the pine," and the lines up to here are taken as an introduction leading, through roots that do not move, to an unchanging "kokoro," heart.
Line four, "kimi ga kokoro wa," means "your heart."
Line five, "wasurekanetsu mo," means "I cannot forget."
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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