Ureshiku wa nochi no kokoro o kami mo kike hiku shimenawa no taeji to zo omou - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

嬉しくは後の心を神も聞け
引く標縄の絶えじとぞ思ふ

Roma-ji: Ureshiku wa nochi no kokoro o kami mo kike hiku shimenawa no taeji to zo omou
English Translation: If you grant me joy,
hear, O gods, my heart to come:
like the sacred rope
that is stretched before your shrine,
it shall never break, I swear
Meaning: If you grant me the joy of love fulfilled, then hear, O gods, my heart in days to come: like the sacred rope stretched before you, it shall never break.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 709

Headnote: "Composed on the topic 'Love that swears' among the same ten poems"
Composed on the topic "Love that swears" among the same ten love poems at the house of Provisional Middle Counselor Fujiwara no Toshitada as the preceding poem. If you grant me joy, he says, then hear, O gods, my heart to come: like the sacred rope that is stretched, it shall never break. Taking up the sacred rope stretched before the gods, he swears that his heart will not waver even after his love has been fulfilled.
The author, "Master of the Office of Palace Repairs Akisue," is Fujiwara no Akisue. The son of Fujiwara no Takatsune, he served as a close retainer of Retired Emperor Shirakawa and as Master of the Office of Palace Repairs. He founded the Rokujō Fujiwara poetic house and is known for beginning the Hitomaro eigu, a rite honoring the portrait of Kakinomoto no Hitomaro. The author's title in the main text is written with a miscopied character and is taken to stand for this office.
Like the preceding poem, 708, it comes from Toshitada's ten love poems; the preceding poem sings of love unmet despite prayer, and this one of love sworn before the gods.

First line, "ureshiku wa": "if you make me glad," supposing that love is fulfilled.
Second line, "nochi no kokoro o": "my heart in the days after."
Third line, "kami mo kike": "kike" is imperative, calling on the gods, "hear it too." The poem pauses here. It echoes "inoranu mono o" in the last line of the preceding poem, 708, in appealing to the gods.
Fourth line, "hiku shimenawa no": "shimenawa" is the rope stretched to mark sacred ground, and "hiku," "to stretch," and "tae," "to break," form related words of rope. "Like the sacred rope stretched taut," it leads into the last line.
Fifth line, "taeji to zo omou": "ji" is the negative volitional and "zo" an emphatic particle that binds with the attributive "omou," "I vow it shall never break."
Author: Fujiwara no Akisue
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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