Chigirioku sono koto no ha ni mi o kaete nochi no yo ni dani aimiteshikana - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

契り置くその言の葉に身を変へて
後の世にだに逢ひ見てしかな

Roma-ji: Chigirioku sono koto no ha ni mi o kaete nochi no yo ni dani aimiteshikana
English Translation: For the very words
you once pledged to me I'd trade
this self of mine away,
if only in the world to come
we might meet each other then
Meaning: I would give my very self in exchange for the words you pledged, if only we might meet at last, even in the world to come.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 750

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown"
I would give up my life in exchange for the words you pledged, the poet says, if only we might meet in the world to come. Even if they never meet in this world, the poet would trust in the words of the vow, cast away life, and meet in the next, a love that does not shrink even from death.
Poem 712 of this book also has "mi o kaete" as its third line. Where 712 wished to change places with the beloved, this poem exchanges the self for the words of a vow, using the same line in a different sense. "Koto no ha" is also sung of in 731, and the poem shares with "kono yo narade mo" in 715 the wish for a meeting in the next life.

First line, "chigirioku": "pledged beforehand," modifying "koto no ha" in the second line.
Second line, "sono koto no ha ni": "for those words of promise." It uses the same word as "koto no ha mogana" in the last line of 731 of this book.
Third line, "mi o kaete": "exchanging my self." It is the same as the third line of 712 of this book, but here means "giving up my life."
Fourth line, "nochi no yo ni dani": "nochi no yo" is the next life and "dani" expresses a minimal wish, "if only in the world to come." It shares with "kono yo narade mo" in the fourth line of 715 the wish to meet in the next life.
Fifth line, "aimiteshikana": "teshikana" is a final particle of one's own wish, "how I long to meet."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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