Inishie o ika de ka to nomi omou mi ni koyoi no yume o haru ni nasaba ya - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

いにしへをいかでかとのみ思ふ身に
今宵の夢を春になさばや

Roma-ji: Inishie o ika de ka to nomi omou mi ni koyoi no yume o haru ni nasaba ya
English Translation: I who think only
how I might return somehow
to those days long past,
would turn tonight's dream into
the spring that once was mine.
Meaning: I, who think only of how I might somehow return to the days of old, would make tonight's dream into the spring that once was mine.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems III 810

Headnote: "On hearing someone say that in a dream they had seen her serving in the palace as before, at a time when the Hirohata Consort had long not gone to the palace"
The poem says that for one who thinks only of somehow returning to the past, she would turn that dream into the spring of former days. The headnote shows that the author, who had long not gone to the palace, composed it on hearing that someone had dreamed of her serving at court as before. Longing for the past when she enjoyed the emperor's favor, it sings of the wish to make the dream reality.
The author, "Hirohata no Miyasudokoro," is Minamoto no Keishi, daughter of Minamoto no Moroakira, who became a consort of Emperor Murakami and was called the Hirohata Consort.

First line, "inishie o," means "the past," the time when she enjoyed the emperor's favor.
Second line, "ika de ka to nomi," means "only wishing somehow to return."
Third line, "omou mi ni," means "to one who thinks so."
Fourth line, "koyoi no yume o," means "tonight's dream," the dream seen by the person in the headnote. Following 808 and 809, it is a poem on dreams.
Final line, "haru ni nasaba ya," means "I would make it spring," with "ba ya" expressing one's own wish, likening the days of favor to spring. 830 is a poem by Emperor Murakami sent to the Hirohata Consort, so that the emperor's poem and the consort's answer each other within this book.
Author: Minamoto no Keishi
Source: Shui Wakashu
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