Wasurene to iishi ni kanau kimi naredo towanu wa tsuraki mono ni zo arikeru - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

忘れねと言ひしにかなふ君なれど
訪はぬはつらきものにぞありける

Roma-ji: Wasurene to iishi ni kanau kimi naredo towanu wa tsuraki mono ni zo arikeru
English Translation: "Forget me," I said,
and you are one who does just
as I told you to—
yet that you never come now
is a bitter thing, I find
Meaning: You are someone who does just as I told you when I said, "Forget me"—and yet, now that you no longer come, I find how painful it is.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems V 928

Headnote: "Composed when Asayori Ason, told by a woman he had written to for years that she had no use for him and he should forget her, let a long time pass, then began courting another woman and stopped writing altogether."
The poet says he is one who does just as she told him when she said to forget her, yet it is painful that he no longer comes. Having pushed him away herself, she finds it painful when his letters truly stop, and the poem frankly voices this contradictory heart.
According to the headnote, a woman who had exchanged letters with Asayori Ason for years told him only that she had no use for him and he should forget her; after a long time he began courting another woman and stopped writing, and she composed this. The last line closes on "mono ni zo arikeru," as do 899 and 913 in this book.
The poet, Hon'in no Kura, seems to have been a lady-in-waiting at the residence of Fujiwara no Tokihira, known as the Hon'in, and little more is known of her life.

The first line, "Wasurene to," means "'forget me,'" with "ne" the imperative of the perfective "nu."
The second line, "iishi ni kanau," means "doing just as I said," "kanau" meaning to fall in with one's words.
The third line, "kimi naredo," means "you are, and yet," with "do" an adversative conjunctive particle.
The fourth line, "towanu wa tsuraki," means "that you do not come is painful."
The last line, "mono ni zo arikeru," means "so it has proved," with "zo" an emphatic binding particle closed by the attributive "keru."
Author: Hon'in no Kura
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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