Wasuregusa waga himo ni tsuku toki to naku omoiwatareba ikeri tomo nashi

忘れ草我が紐に付く時となく
思ひわたれば生けりともなし

Roma-ji: Wasuregusa waga himo ni tsuku toki to naku omoiwatareba ikeri tomo nashi
English Translation: The grass of forgetting
I fasten to my sash,
for without a pause
I go on and on in longing
and hardly feel alive
Meaning: I tie the grass of forgetting to my robe's cord, for I go on longing without a pause and hardly feel alive.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts through Things 3060

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts through Things"
The poet ties the grass of forgetting to the cord of the robe, yet goes on longing without pause and hardly feels alive. It speaks of love so painful that one longs to forget.
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, "wasuregusa," the daylily, was thought to make one forget sorrow when worn. It also appears in poem 3062 in this book.
Line two, "waga himo ni tsuku," means "I fasten it to my cord," and the poem pauses here.
Line three, "toki to naku," means "at all times."
Line four, "omoiwatareba," means "since I go on longing."
Line five, "ikeri tomo nashi," means "I hardly feel alive," the same final line as poem 2980 in this book.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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