Itsushika to kimi ni to omoishi wakana o ba nori no michi ni zo kyō wa tsumitsuru - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

いつしかと君にと思ひし若菜をば
法の道にぞ今日は摘みつる

Roma-ji: Itsushika to kimi ni to omoishi wakana o ba nori no michi ni zo kyō wa tsumitsuru
English Translation: So eagerly I
had meant to give them to you,
these tender greens,
yet on the Buddha's path
today it is I pick them.
Meaning: The young greens I had so longed to offer you, I have picked today for the path of the Buddha's Law.
Commentary: Book Twenty Lament Poems 1338

Headnote: "When, in the Tenryaku era, the late Empress's longevity celebration had been planned, but she passed away, and the preparations were used for a memorial sutra reading"
The emperor says that the young greens he had long meant for her he picked today for the path of the Law. The headnote shows that in his reign a longevity celebration had been planned for the late empress dowager, but she died, and the preparations were turned to a memorial sutra reading. The empress dowager was the emperor's mother, Fujiwara no Onshi, who died in Tenryaku 8 (954). It sings of the grief of picking for a Buddhist rite the young greens meant to be offered at a celebration of long life.
The author, written as "Composed by the Emperor," is Emperor Murakami. A son of Emperor Daigo, his reign was praised as the Tenryaku Rule, and he ordered the compilation of the Gosenshū.

First line, "itsushika to," means "eagerly," expressing longing for the day.
Second line, "kimi ni to omoishi," means "that I meant for you," his mother the empress dowager.
Third line, "wakana o ba," means "the young greens," greens offered at a celebration of long life.
Fourth line, "nori no michi ni zo," means "for the path of the Law," with the binding particle "zo" resolved by the attributive "tsuru" in the final line.
Final line, "kyō wa tsumitsuru," means "today I picked them," with "tsuru" the attributive form of the perfective "tsu," speaking of a celebration's greens turned to a memorial rite.
Author: Emperor Murakami
Source: Shui Wakashu
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