Yukusue no shirushi bakari ni nokoru beki matsu sae itaku oinikeru kana - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

行く末のしるしばかりに残るべき
松さへいたく老いにけるかな

Roma-ji: Yukusue no shirushi bakari ni nokoru beki matsu sae itaku oinikeru kana
English Translation: Even the pine tree
that should stand as the only sign
for ages to come
has, alas, grown very old,
so aged now and so worn.
Meaning: Even the pine that should remain as the only token for the ages to come has grown terribly old.
Commentary: Book Eight Miscellaneous Poems I 461

Headnote: "Composed on the old pine at the Kawara-in"
The poet says that even the pine that should remain as a token for the ages to come has grown terribly old. The headnote shows he composed it on the old pine at the Kawara-in. He conveys the decay of the Kawara-in, once the splendid mansion of Minamoto no Tōru, through the aging of the pine that should at least have remained as a keepsake, and laments the transience of glory. Its final line shares the form of 436 in this book, "waga yo no itaku fukenikeru kana," so the aging of a man and the aging of a pine answer each other.
The author, Minamoto no Michinari, was a son of Minamoto no Katakuni and a mid-Heian poet. He served as Governor of Chikuzen and Junior Assistant Governor-General of Dazaifu. He is counted among the Later Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.
The Kawara-in was the mansion built at Rokujō by Minamoto no Tōru, a son of Emperor Saga, and known for its garden modeled on the scenery of Shiogama in Michinoku, but it fell to ruin after Tōru's death.

First line, "yukusue no," means "for the ages to come."
Second line, "shirushi bakari ni," means "if only as a token," referring to what remains as a keepsake after glory has passed.
Third line, "nokoru beki," means "that should remain," with "beki" the attributive form of the auxiliary of expectation "beshi."
Fourth line, "matsu sae itaku," means "even the pine so very," with "sae" a particle of addition. It voices the grief that, besides the ruined mansion, even the pine has aged.
Final line, "oinikeru kana," means "how it has grown old," with "ni" perfective and "keru" exclamatory. It takes the same form as the final line of 436, "fukenikeru kana."
Author: Minamoto no Michinari
Source: Shui Wakashu
Prev Poem: Ikade nao waga mi ni kaete Takekuma no matsu to mo naramu yuku hito no tame
Next Poem: Yo no naka o Sumiyoshi to shimo omowanu ni nani o matsu tote waga mi henu ran