Mi wa hayaku naki mono no goto narinishi o kiesenu mono wa kokoro narikeri - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

身は早くなきもののごとなりにしを
消えせぬものは心なりけり

Roma-ji: Mi wa hayaku naki mono no goto narinishi o kiesenu mono wa kokoro narikeri
English Translation: Long ago my self
became a thing that is no more,
like one who is gone—
but what has never faded
is my heart, I find
Meaning: My body long ago became as though it no longer existed, yet what has never faded away, I find, is my heart.
Commentary: Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Poems III 1213

Headnote: "When someone who had once served at the same place as she sent to ask how she had been these many years, she sent this."
The poet says that her body long ago became like a thing no more, yet what has never faded is her heart. Contrasting a self forgotten by the world with a heart that still cherishes the past, she conveys her feelings to a former colleague.
According to the headnote, someone who once served at the same place sent to ask how she had been in these years, and she sent this in reply.
The poet, Ise, was a daughter of Fujiwara no Tsugukage, Governor of Ise, and served Fujiwara no Onshi, consort of Emperor Uda. She received the emperor's favor and later bore Nakatsukasa to Prince Atsuyoshi. One of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals, she is represented in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu by "Naniwagata mijikaki ashi no fushi no ma mo."

The first line, "Mi wa hayaku," means "my body long ago," set against the "heart" of the last line.
The second line, "naki mono no goto," means "like a thing that is no more," a self forgotten by the world.
The third line, "narinishi o," means "became, and yet," with "o" concessive.
The fourth line, "kiesenu mono wa," means "what has never faded," answering "naki" in the second line.
The last line, "kokoro narikeri," means "is my heart, I find," with "keri" for realization. Like "kokoro nomi koso" in the fourth line of 1208 of this book, it sets body and heart apart.
Author: Ise
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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