Shika bakari chigirishi naka mo kawarikeru kono yo ni hito o tanomikeru kana - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

しかばかり契りし中も変はりける
この世に人を頼みけるかな

Roma-ji: Shika bakari chigirishi naka mo kawarikeru kono yo ni hito o tanomikeru kana
English Translation: In a world like this,
where even a bond pledged
with such vows can change,
how foolish I was to place
my trust in another's heart
Meaning: In this world, where even a bond sealed with such vows can change, how I trusted in another's heart.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Love Poems V 951

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed as a love poem"
Composed as a love poem, like the preceding one. In a world where even a bond pledged so deeply changes, he says, how I relied on another. In an impermanent world where even a firmly sworn bond between two people shifts, he regrets his folly in having put his trust in another's heart. Not pausing at "kawarikeru" in the third line but running on to "kono yo" in the fourth, the poem conveys a lament that looks on the changing of a bond as the very nature of the world.
The author, "Fujiwara no Teika," was the son of Fujiwara no Shunzei, Master of the Empress Dowager's Household. He later became one of the compilers of the Shin Kokin Wakashū and compiled the Shin Chokusen Wakashū on his own. He is regarded as the compiler of the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, in which a poem of his own is also included.
It shares the phrase "chigirishi naka" with 910 of this book, "chigirishi naka no taenu beki kana"; where 910 laments that the bond seems about to break, this poem laments that it has changed. Like "nani o tanomite" in 915, it also regrets having relied on another.

First line, "shika bakari": "so deeply, to such a degree."
Second line, "chigirishi naka mo": "chigirishi naka" is the bond of a man and woman who have pledged their future, and "mo" means "even such a bond." It is the same phrasing as "chigirishi naka no" in the fourth line of 910 of this book.
Third line, "kawarikeru": "keru," the attributive of "keri," expressing realization, modifies "kono yo" in the fourth line, "where it changes."
Fourth line, "kono yo ni hito o": "in such a world, another." It shares "kono yo" with "kono yo ni mata wa" in the fourth line of 904 and "kono yo bakari to" in the fourth line of 925 of this book.
Fifth line, "tanomikeru kana": "keru" expresses realization and "kana" is exclamatory, "how I relied on another," voicing regret. It echoes "nani o tanomite" in the second line of 915 of this book.
Author: Fujiwara no Teika
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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