Nani semu ni inochi o kakete chikaiken ikaba ya to omou ori mo arikeri - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

何せむに命をかけて誓ひけん
いかばやと思ふ折もありけり

Roma-ji: Nani semu ni inochi o kakete chikaiken ikaba ya to omou ori mo arikeri
English Translation: For what did I swear
my vow, staking life upon it?
Wanting to go to you,
wanting to live—such moments
there have been, as well.
Meaning: Why did I stake my life on that vow? There are moments when I long to go to you, and long to live.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 871

Headnote: "Sent after he had resented a woman and sworn never to visit her again"
The poem regrets its own vow: why did I stake my life on swearing never to come again, when there are times I long to go to you? Setting on "ikaba ya" both "I would go" and "I would live," it sings with wit of the bind in which going would break the vow and cost his life.
According to the headnote, it was sent to a woman after he had resented her and sworn never to visit her again. Though he had sworn in anger, it frankly conveys a heart that has relented and longs to see her.
The author, "Sanekata Ason", is Fujiwara no Sanekata, son of Fujiwara no Sadatoki and adopted by his uncle Fujiwara no Naritoki. After serving as Middle Captain of the Left Inner Palace Guards he went down as governor of Mutsu and died there. He is one of the Later Thirty-Six Immortal Poets and is known for the Hyakunin Isshu poem "kaku to dani."

First line, "nani semu ni," means "why, for what purpose."
Second line, "inochi o kakete," means "staking my life." It shares with "hito no inochi no" in the preceding poem, 870, the binding of life to a vow.
Third line, "chikaiken," means "did I swear," with "ken" conjecturing a past cause. Following "chikaiteshi" in the preceding poem, it closes the sequence of vows. The poem breaks here.
Fourth line, "ikaba ya to omou," means "wishing to go, wishing to live," with "ikaba ya" a pivot word joining "ikaba ya," I would go, and "ikaba ya," I would live. "Ba ya" expresses a wish.
Final line, "ori mo arikeri," means "there were such times," with "keri" expressing sudden realization.
Author: Fujiwara no Sanekata
Source: Shui Wakashu
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