Tsune naranu yo wa uki mi koso kanashikere sono kazu ni dani iraji to omoeba - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

常ならぬ世は憂き身こそ悲しけれ
その数にだに入らじと思へば

Roma-ji: Tsune naranu yo wa uki mi koso kanashikere sono kazu ni dani iraji to omoeba
English Translation: In this changing world,
it is this wretched self
that is so sad,
for I think that I will not
be counted even among them.
Meaning: In this world where nothing lasts, it is my own wretched self that is so sad, for I think I will not even be counted among those whom people wish were still alive.
Commentary: Book Twenty Lament Poems 1300

Headnote: "Reply"
The poet says that in this impermanent world it is his own wretched self that is sad, for he thinks he will not even be counted among those mourned. It is the reply to the preceding poem, 1299, by Fujiwara no Tameyori. To Tameyori's lament that many whom he wished alive had died, he answers humbly that even if he died he would not be counted among such cherished people, singing of the sorrow of living in an impermanent world.
The author, written as "Commander of the Right Gate Guards Kintō," is Fujiwara no Kintō. A son of the Regent Fujiwara no Yoritada, he rose to Provisional Major Counselor. He compiled the Wakan Rōeishū and is said to have compiled the Shūishō. He is known for his poem "taki no oto wa" in the Hyakunin Isshu.

First line, "tsune naranu," means "impermanent," speaking of all things changing.
Second line, "yo wa uki mi koso," means "in this world, this wretched self indeed," with the binding particle "koso" resolved by the perfective "kere" in the third line.
Third line, "kanashikere," means "is sad," and the poem breaks after this third line, the lower verse giving the reason in inverted order.
Fourth line, "sono kazu ni dani," means "not even in that number," the number of those one wishes were alive in the preceding poem, 1299, with "dani" a particle that names a lesser thing to imply the greater.
Final line, "iraji to omoeba," means "since I think I will not enter," with "ji" negative conjecture and "ba" after the perfective form expressing cause.
Author: Fujiwara no Kintō
Source: Shui Wakashu
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