Ayashiku mo itou ni hayuru kokoro kana ika ni shite ka wa omoitayubeki - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

あやしくも厭ふにはゆる心かな
いかにしてかは思ひ絶ゆべき

Roma-ji: Ayashiku mo itou ni hayuru kokoro kana ika ni shite ka wa omoitayubeki
English Translation: How strange it is, this
heart that grows only stronger
the more it's shunned;
by what means, then, could I ever
cut this love of mine away?
Meaning: How strange it is—this heart that only grows stronger the more it is shunned. How could I ever bring myself to give up this love?
Commentary: Book Fifteen Love Poems V 996

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown"
The poem says: strangely, this heart only grows stronger the more it is shunned; how then can I ever cut off this love? Gazing at the absurdity of a love that grows stronger the more it is rejected, it sings of the pain of being unable to give it up.

First line, "ayashiku mo," means "strangely." It shares the word with the fourth line of 991 in this book, "ayashiku me ni mo."
Second line, "itou ni hayuru," means "growing stronger the more it is shunned," with "hayu" meaning to stand out or grow more vigorous.
Third line, "kokoro kana," means "such is this heart," with "kana" exclamatory. The poem breaks here.
Fourth line, "ika ni shite ka wa," means "in what way," with the binding particle "ka wa" forming a kakari-musubi with the final line.
Final line, "omoitayubeki," means "could I cut off my love," concluding with "beki," the attributive of the conjectural "beshi," in answer to "ka wa" in the fourth line.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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