Mi wa hayaku Nara no miyako to narinishi o koishiki koto no mada mo furinu ka - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

身は早く奈良の都となりにしを
恋しきことのまだも古りぬか

Roma-ji: Mi wa hayaku Nara no miyako to narinishi o koishiki koto no mada mo furinu ka
English Translation: Long ago my body
became like the old capital,
Nara of the past,
yet the longing in my heart—
has it not yet grown old
Meaning: My body long ago grew old like the ancient capital of Nara; has my longing, then, still not grown old?
Commentary: Book Nine Love Poems I 560

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet says that though his body long ago grew old like the ancient capital of Nara, his longing has still not grown old. He laments a love that does not fade with age, setting it against the faded capital of Nara.
Likening his aging body to Nara, grown old after the capital moved away, the poem contrasts a body that has aged with a heart that has not.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us. The text gives the poet as "yomibito mo," which is treated here as "anonymous."

The first line, "Mi wa hayaku," means "my body long ago."
The second line, "Nara no miyako to," means "like Nara, now an old capital," taken as an emblem of what has grown old.
The third line, "narinishi o," means "though it has become so," with "o" a concessive particle.
The fourth line, "koishiki koto no," means "my longing."
The last line, "mada mo furinu ka," means "has it not yet grown old?", with "furi," to grow old, an associated word with "Nara no miyako" in the second line.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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