Kyō soe ni kurezarame ya wa to omoedomo taenu wa hito no kokoro narikeri - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

今日そへに暮れざらめやはと思へども
堪へぬは人の心なりけり

Roma-ji: Kyō soe ni kurezarame ya wa to omoedomo taenu wa hito no kokoro narikeri
English Translation: "Will this day, too,
not draw to a close?" I tell
myself, and yet still
what cannot bear the waiting
is this heart of mine, it seems
Meaning: I tell myself that this day, too, will surely come to an end, yet it is the human heart that cannot bear to wait until then.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems IV 882

Headnote: "Sent to the Lady of the Wardrobe for the first time."
The poet says that though he tells himself that this day, too, will surely end, it is the human heart that cannot bear to wait. He sings of the eager heart of love that cannot wait out the hours, even knowing that the night of meeting will surely come.
According to the headnote, the poem was the first sent to the Lady of the Wardrobe. One view identifies her as Akiko, daughter of Minister of the Left Fujiwara no Nakahira.
The poet, listed as "Atsutada no Ason," was Fujiwara no Atsutada. The third son of Minister of the Left Fujiwara no Tokihira, he rose to Provisional Middle Counselor. One of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals, his "aimite no nochi no kokoro ni kurabureba" is included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.

The first line, "Kyō soe ni," means "today, too, in that way," "soe ni" being an adverb meaning "therefore" or "so."
The second line, "kurezarame ya wa to," means "will it not grow dark—surely it will," with "ya wa" rhetorical. It is a hypermetric line of eight syllables.
The third line, "omoedomo," means "though I think," with "domo" adversative.
The fourth line, "taenu wa hito no," means "what cannot bear it is a person's."
The last line, "kokoro narikeri," means "heart, after all," with "keri" expressing realization.
Author: Fujiwara no Atsutada
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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