Isonokami furinishi koi no kamisabite tataru ni ware wa negi zo kanetsuru - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

石上古りにし恋の神さびて
祟るに我はねぎぞかねつる

Roma-ji: Isonokami furinishi koi no kamisabite tataru ni ware wa negi zo kanetsuru
English Translation: My love, like Isonokami,
grown old over the long years,
has become a god,
and so it curses me, and I
cannot pray it into calm.
Meaning: A love grown old has become like an ancient god and lays its curse on me, and no prayer of mine can calm it.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 862

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown"
The poem says that a love grown old over long years now brings a curse like an ancient god, and no prayer can appease it. It is a witty poem likening the pain of a love that has aged yet will not vanish to a god's curse and the prayers that try to soothe it.
The author, "Fujiwara no Tadafusa Ason," was the son of Fujiwara no Okitsugu and served as Master of the Western Capital Office among other posts. He excelled at music, and his poems were also chosen for the Kokinshū.

First line, "Isonokami," is a pillow word modifying "furu," to grow old, since Furu lies in Isonokami in Yamato. The first line of 867 in this book is also "Isonokami," and the two poems of shrines and gods answer each other.
Second line, "furinishi koi no," means "a love grown old." Taking up the preceding poem, 861, which sang of a love that does not age, this one sings of a love that has.
Third line, "kamisabite," means "grown godlike with the years," likening the old love to an ancient god.
Fourth line, "tataru ni ware wa," means "since it curses me, I." "Kamisabi," "tataru," and "negi" are all associated words of the gods.
Final line, "negi zo kanetsuru," means "I cannot pray it into calm," with "kane" meaning unable. It concludes in "tsuru," the attributive of the perfective "tsu," in answer to the binding particle "zo." It uses the same turn, "zo kanetsuru," as the fourth line of 876 in this book, "seki zo kanetsuru."
Author: Fujiwara no Tadanobu
Source: Shui Wakashu
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