Matsu no ne ni izuru izumi no mizu nareba onajiki mono o taeji to zo omou - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

松の根に出づる泉の水なれば
同じき物を絶えじとぞ思ふ

Roma-ji: Matsu no ne ni izuru izumi no mizu nareba onajiki mono o taeji to zo omou
English Translation: Since it is the water
of a spring that wells up
from the pine tree's roots,
one and the same with the pine,
never will it cease, I think.
Meaning: Since it is the water of a spring that wells up at the roots of the pine, I think it is one with the pine and will never run dry.
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Congratulatory Poems 1164

Headnote: "For a congratulatory screen: at a house, a spring flows out from the foot of a pine"
The poet says that since it is the water of a spring welling at the pine's roots, it will, like the pine, never fail. The headnote shows it was written for a congratulatory screen depicting a spring flowing from the foot of a pine at someone's house. Joining the pine, said to live a thousand years, with a spring that never stops welling, it celebrates the lasting prosperity of the house.
The author, Ki no Tsurayuki, was the leading compiler of the Kokinshū, wrote its kana preface and the Tosa Diary. He is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "matsu no ne ni," means "at the roots of the pine," singing of the pine, symbol of long life. Beginning with the second line of the next poem, 1165, "matsu ni tatoemu," congratulatory poems on the pine follow one another in the first half of this book.
Second line, "izuru izumi no," means "of the spring that wells up."
Third line, "mizu nareba," means "since it is the water," with "ba" after the perfective form expressing cause.
Fourth line, "onajiki mono o," means "as one and the same thing" as the pine, setting out the reasoning that water rising from the pine's roots is one with the pine.
Final line, "taeji to zo omou," means "I think it will never cease," with "ji" negative conjecture and the binding particle "zo" resolved by the attributive "omou."
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Shui Wakashu
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