Iki shinan koto no kokoro ni kanaiseba futatabi mono wa omowazaramashi - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

生き死なんことの心にかなひせば
再び物は思はざらまし

Roma-ji: Iki shinan koto no kokoro ni kanaiseba futatabi mono wa omowazaramashi
English Translation: If to live or die
were a thing that could be made
to suit my own heart,
never a second time would
I suffer this brooding love.
Meaning: If living and dying could be made to suit my heart, I would never again suffer this brooding of love.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Love Poems V 928

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown"
The poem says that if living and dying went as the heart wished, I would never again suffer the brooding of love. Through an impossible supposition, it expresses the helplessness of one who, unable even to die, goes on suffering in love.

First line, "iki shinan," means "living or dying." It takes up the casting away of life in the preceding poem, 927.
Second line, "koto no kokoro ni," means "that matter, to the heart."
Third line, "kanaiseba," means "if it went as one wished," with "seba," the irrealis of the past auxiliary "ki" plus "ba," making a supposition contrary to fact.
Fourth line, "futatabi mono wa," means "never again the brooding."
Final line, "omowazaramashi," means "I would not suffer," with "mashi" a counterfactual auxiliary answering "seba" in the third line.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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