Waga tame wa miru kai mo nashi wasuregusa wasuru bakari no koi ni shi araneba - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

我がためは見るかひもなし忘れ草
忘るばかりの恋にしあらねば

Roma-ji: Waga tame wa miru kai mo nashi wasuregusa wasuru bakari no koi ni shi araneba
English Translation: For me there is
no point in gazing on it,
the grass of forgetting—
for mine is not a love
that could ever be forgotten
Meaning: For me, there is no use in looking at the grass of forgetting, for mine is not a love that could ever be forgotten.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems III 789

Headnote: "When a woman he had been corresponding with told him to forget her now."
The poet says there is no point in his looking at the grass of forgetting, for his love is not one that can be forgotten. To a woman asking him to forget her, he replies that even the day lily said to make one forget sorrow has no effect on his love.
According to the headnote, a woman with whom he had exchanged words told him to forget her now, and he composed this poem. Following "wasurewabinure" in the preceding poem, 788, it too sings of a love that cannot be forgotten.
The poet, listed as "Haseo no Ason," was Ki no Haseo. A son of Ki no Sadanori, he studied under Sugawara no Michizane, became Professor of Letters, and rose to Middle Counselor. He is known as a scholar skilled in Chinese poetry and prose.

The first line, "Waga tame wa," means "for me." It is the same as the first line of 784 in this book.
The second line, "miru kai mo nashi," means "there is no point in seeing," and the poem pauses here.
The third line, "wasuregusa," is another name for the orange day lily, which was said to make one forget sorrow when worn. It stands in inverted order with the second line.
The fourth line, "wasuru bakari no," means "enough to be forgotten," repeating the word in "wasuregusa" in the third line.
The last line, "koi ni shi araneba," means "since it is not such a love," with "shi" an emphatic particle.
Author: Ki no Haseo
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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