Kaku bakari tsune naki yo to wa shirinagara hito o haruka ni nani tanomiken - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

かくばかり常なき世とは知りながら
人をはるかに何頼みけん

Roma-ji: Kaku bakari tsune naki yo to wa shirinagara hito o haruka ni nani tanomiken
English Translation: So inconstant,
this world, as well I knew—
and knowing it so,
why did I trust in her
so far into the future
Meaning: I knew well how inconstant this world can be—why, then, did I put my trust in her so far into the future?
Commentary: Book Ten Love Poems II 615

Headnote: "Sent on hearing that a woman with whom he exchanged letters had given herself to another man."
The poet asks why, knowing how inconstant the world is, he trusted her so far into the future. He expresses resentment toward a woman who has given herself to another man in the form of regret for his own lack of foresight.
According to the headnote, he sent it on hearing that the woman with whom he had been exchanging letters had become intimate with another man. As in the poems before it, the theme of a lover's change of heart or vanished visits continues.
The poet, Taira no Tokimochi, was a son of Taira no Korenori of the Kanmu Heishi and served as Middle Counselor.

The first line, "Kaku bakari," means "to this degree."
The second line, "tsune naki yo to wa," means "that the world is inconstant," with "yo" also hinting at the relations between lovers.
The third line, "shirinagara," means "though I knew it."
The fourth line, "hito o haruka ni," means "her, far into the future."
The last line, "nani tanomiken," means "why did I rely on her?" with "nani" an interrogative and "ken" an auxiliary conjecturing the cause of a past act.
Author: Taira no Tokimochi
Source: Gosen Wakashu
Prev Poem: Uguisu no kumoi ni wabite naku koe o haru no saga to zo ware wa kikitsuru
Next Poem: Waga kado no hitomura susuki karikawan kimi ga tenare no koma mo konu kana