Yanagi koso kireba haesure yo no hito no koi ni shinamu o ika ni seyo to zo

柳こそ伐れば生えすれ世の人の
恋に死なむをいかにせよとぞ

Roma-ji: Yanagi koso kireba haesure yo no hito no koi ni shinamu o ika ni seyo to zo
English Translation: The willow, indeed,
when cut down will sprout again;
but we of this world—
when we die of love, my dear,
what then would you have me do?
Meaning: A willow, cut down, will sprout again—but people of this world who die of love, what would you have them do?
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3491

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
A willow sprouts again when cut, but a person who dies of love never returns—what would you have me do? So a woman pleads. Contrasting the willow's vitality with the frailty of human life, she voices the pain of love forcefully.
It is one of the love exchanges. The next poem also sings of the willow, so two willow poems stand side by side.
The poet is unknown. The Azuma uta are thought to have been sung among the people of the eastern provinces, and they are marked by plain, open-hearted expression mixed with local dialect.

First line, "yanagi koso": "Koso" is a binding particle answered by the perfective "sure," the starting point for contrasting willow and person.
Second line, "kireba haesure": "When cut it grows again," ending in the perfective that completes "koso" and flowing on with contrast.
Third line, "yo no hito no": The people of this world, set against the willow that regrows.
Fourth line, "koi ni shinamu o": "Dying of love," with "o" concessive.
Final line, "ika ni seyo to zo": "To zo" means "would you say?" ending in a plea.
Source: Manyoshu
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