Ashitazu no kumoi ni kakaru kokoro araba yo o hete sawa ni sumazu zo aramashi - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

あしたづの雲居にかかる心あらば
世を経て沢に住まずぞあらまし

Roma-ji: Ashitazu no kumoi ni kakaru kokoro araba yo o hete sawa ni sumazu zo aramashi
English Translation: If the reed crane
had a heart that truly yearned
for the realm of clouds,
it would not have lingered on
by the marsh for all these years
Meaning: If the crane among the reeds truly had a heart set on the clouds, it would not have gone on living by the marsh for all these years.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems III 754

Headnote: "Reply."
In this reply the poet says that if the crane truly had a heart set on the clouds, it would not have lived by the marsh for so long. She gently chides him: if he truly yearned for one above the clouds, he would have come to her long ago.
It is the reply to the preceding poem, 753.
The poet, called "the Fourth Princess," was Princess Kinshi. The fourth daughter of Emperor Daigo, she became the wife of Fujiwara no Morosuke.

The first line, "Ashitazu no," takes up "ashitazu no" in the first line of the preceding poem, likening him to a crane by the marsh.
The second line, "kumoi ni kakaru," means "set on the realm of clouds," taking up "kumo no ue" in the preceding poem.
The third line, "kokoro araba," means "if it had the heart," which pairs with "mashi" in the last line to express a contrary-to-fact supposition.
The fourth line, "yo o hete sawa ni," means "for years by the marsh," taking up "sawabe ni toshi wa" in the second line of the preceding poem.
The last line, "sumazu zo aramashi," means "it would not have lived," with "zo" an emphatic particle closing on the attributive "mashi," a kakarimusubi pattern.
Author: Princess Kinshi
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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