Kyō made wa Iki no matsubara ikitaredo waga mi no usa ni nagekite zo furu - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

今日まではいきの松原生きたれど
我が身のうさに嘆きてぞ経る

Roma-ji: Kyō made wa Iki no matsubara ikitaredo waga mi no usa ni nagekite zo furu
English Translation: Until this very day,
like the Pines of Iki, alive,
I have lived on, yet
in the sorrow of my lot
I pass my days in grief.
Meaning: Until today, like the name of the Pines of Iki, I have lived on, yet in the sorrow of my lot I pass my days in grief.
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Congratulatory Poems 1208

Headnote: "When a woman whom the Major Captain of the Left, Naritoki, had known went down to Tsukushi, and he sent word to ask after her by Lord Sanekata, who was going down as envoy to Usa"
The poet says that, like the name of the Pines of Iki, she has lived on to this day, yet she spends her days grieving over the sorrow of her lot. The headnote shows that when a woman close to the Major Captain of the Left, Fujiwara no Naritoki, had gone down to Tsukushi, Naritoki sent word to ask after her by Fujiwara no Sanekata, who was going down as envoy to Usa, and this was her reply. Pivoting on "Iki," the famous Pines of Iki in Tsukushi, and "iki," living, and on "usa," the Usa of the envoy, and "usa," sorrow, it tells of a life lived in grief in a distant land.
The author, the Daughter of Fujiwara no Nochio, is said to be a daughter of Fujiwara no Nochio, but little is known of her.

First line, "kyō made wa," means "until today." Against the "today" celebrated in the final line of the opening poem of this book, 1159, "kyō ni zo arikeru," here it is a "today" reached amid grief.
Second line, "Iki no matsubara," is a pivot word: "Iki" is the place name, the Pines of Iki in Chikuzen, and "iki," living.
Third line, "ikitaredo," means "though I have lived on," taking up and repeating "iki" from the second line. It shares the word "ikitaru" with the first line of the next poem, 1209, "ikitaru ka."
Fourth line, "waga mi no usa ni," is a pivot word: "usa" means "sorrow" and "Usa," of the envoy to Usa.
Final line, "nagekite zo furu," means "I pass my days in grief," with the binding particle "zo" resolved by the attributive "furu."
Author: Daughter of Fujiwara no Nochio
Source: Shui Wakashu
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