Wasureji yo yume to chigirishi koto no ha wa utsutsu ni tsuraki kokoro narikeri - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

忘れじよゆめと契りし言の葉は
うつつにつらき心なりけり

Roma-ji: Wasureji yo yume to chigirishi koto no ha wa utsutsu ni tsuraki kokoro narikeri
English Translation: "I will not forget,"
the words you swore to me, "never,"
as if in a dream,
in waking life have proven
to be a heart that's cold.
Meaning: The words you swore—"I will never forget"—were as fleeting as a dream, and in the waking world they turned out to be a cold heart.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 922

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown"
The poem laments that the words sworn—never will I forget—were a promise as fleeting as a dream, and in waking reality proved a cold heart. Setting on "yume" both "never" and "dream," and contrasting it with "utsutsu," reality, it sings of the frailty of a lover's vow.
From 919 to 922 in this book, four poems in a row sing of dreams.

First line, "wasureji yo," means "I will not forget," with "ji" a negative intention, quoting the lover's vow.
Second line, "yume to chigirishi," means "sworn as 'never,'" with "yume" a pivot word joining "yume," never, and "yume," dream. It closes the sequence of dream poems running from 919 in this book.
Third line, "koto no ha wa," means "the words."
Fourth line, "utsutsu ni tsuraki," means "cold in reality." It sets "yume" in the second line against "utsutsu" in the fourth, and uses the same word as "utsutsu" in the preceding poem, 920.
Final line, "kokoro narikeri," means "was the heart," with "keri" expressing sudden realization.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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