Wasururu wa ukiyo no tsune to omou ni mo mi o yaru kata no naki zo wabinuru - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

忘るるは憂き世の常と思ふにも
身をやる方のなきぞわびぬる

Roma-ji: Wasururu wa ukiyo no tsune to omou ni mo mi o yaru kata no naki zo wabinuru
English Translation: Though I tell myself
to be forgotten is the
way of this sad world,
still I grieve that there is no way
for me to ease my heart
Meaning: Though I tell myself that being forgotten is simply the way of this sorrowful world, still I grieve that I have no means of easing my heart.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Love Poems V 908

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Though I think that to be forgotten is the way of this sad world, she says, I grieve that I have no means of easing my heart. However much she tries to reason that being forgotten by a lover is a common thing in the world, she still has no way to console herself, and the poem sings of an anguish that will not settle even when the mind understands.
The author, "Murasaki Shikibu," was the daughter of Fujiwara no Tametoki, Governor of Echigo. She married Fujiwara no Nobutaka and bore him Kenshi, and after her husband's death she served Jōtōmon'in Shōshi, consort of Emperor Ichijō. She is known as the author of The Tale of Genji and The Diary of Murasaki Shikibu, and a poem of hers is included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.
Following this poem's "wasururu wa," the next poem, 909, says "kimi wasurezu wa ware mo wasureji," so that a vow not to forget is set right after a lament at being forgotten.

First line, "wasururu wa": "being forgotten." It answers "kimi wasurezu wa ware mo wasureji" in the fourth and fifth lines of the next poem, 909, through the word "wasuru," and shares its wording with "wasururu hito wa" in the second line of 933 of this book.
Second line, "ukiyo no tsune to": "ukiyo" is a world full of sorrow, and "tsune" a commonplace, the way of the world.
Third line, "omou ni mo": "even as I think," showing a mind trying to accept things by reason.
Fourth line, "mi o yaru kata no": "mi o yaru" means to ease one's heart or distract oneself, and "kata" means a means or way.
Fifth line, "naki zo wabinuru": the emphatic "zo" closes with the attributive "nuru." "Wabu" means to be troubled or grieved, "I grieve that there is no means of easing my heart."
Author: Murasaki Shikibu
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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