Imasara ni omoiideji to shinoburu o koishiki ni koso wasurewabinure - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

今更に思ひ出でじと忍ぶるを
恋しきにこそ忘れわびぬれ

Roma-ji: Imasara ni omoiideji to shinoburu o koishiki ni koso wasurewabinure
English Translation: Even now, resolved
that I will not recall you,
I hold myself back,
yet it is longing that makes
forgetting so hard to bear
Meaning: I try to hold back, resolved not to think of you now, after all this time, yet it is longing itself that makes it impossible to forget.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems III 788

Headnote: "Sent to a woman named Yamato in the house of Prince Atsuyoshi."
The poet says that though he tries not to recall her, longing makes it impossible to forget. He voices the pain of a longing that grows the more he restrains himself from remembering, so that he cannot forget.
According to the headnote, the poem was sent to a lady-in-waiting named Yamato who served in the house of Prince Atsuyoshi. 782 in this book is also a poem sent to a lady-in-waiting named Yamato.
The poet, called "the Minister of the Left," was Fujiwara no Saneyori. The eldest son of Regent Fujiwara no Tadahira, he rose from Minister of the Left to Regent and Chancellor. He is also called Lord Ononomiya, after his residence.

The first line, "Imasara ni," means "now, after all this time."
The second line, "omoiideji to," means "resolved not to remember," with "ji" expressing negative intention.
The third line, "shinoburu o," means "though I hold back," with "o" expressing an adversative sense.
The fourth line, "koishiki ni koso," means "it is longing that," with "koso" an emphatic particle.
The last line, "wasurewabinure," means "makes me unable to forget," closing with the perfective "nure" in answer to "koso" in the fourth line, a kakarimusubi pattern.
Author: Fujiwara no Saneyori
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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