Inochi araba ikasama ni sen yo o shiranu mushi dani aki wa naki ni koso nake - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

命あらばいかさまにせん世を知らぬ
虫だに秋は鳴きにこそ鳴け

Roma-ji: Inochi araba ikasama ni sen yo o shiranu mushi dani aki wa naki ni koso nake
English Translation: If I go on living,
what then am I to do?
Even insects that
know nothing of the world
cry and cry in autumn
Meaning: If I should go on living, what am I to do? Even the insects, who know nothing of the world, cry and cry when autumn comes.
Commentary: Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Poems II 1095

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
If I live on, what am I to do, when even the insects that know nothing of the world cry and cry in autumn, she says. Even insects ignorant of the world's sorrows cry with all their voices when autumn comes. How much more, then, must she, who knows the world's pain to the full, spend her days weeping if she lives on, and laying her own tears over the insects' voices, she laments the pain of living.
The author, "Izumi Shikibu," was a daughter of Ōe no Masamune, governor of Echizen. She is called by this name because she became the wife of Tachibana no Michisada, governor of Izumi. She served Jōtōmon'in Shōshi and is known for passionate love poems.
It shares the autumn insects with 1093 of this book. Where 1093 likens the end of life to the insects' voices falling silent, this poem lays the pain of living over insects that cry as long as they live, so the two stand in contrast.

First line, "inochi araba": "if I go on living."
Second line, "ikasama ni sen": "what am I to do?" The poem pauses here.
Third line, "yo o shiranu": "that know nothing of the world's sorrow."
Fourth line, "mushi dani aki wa": "dani" is an adverbial particle naming a lesser case to suggest a greater, "even the insects." It shares the insects of autumn with "kareno no mushi no" in the second line of 1093 of this book.
Fifth line, "naki ni koso nake": repeating the same verb strengthens it, "they cry and cry." "Koso" is an emphatic binding particle closing with the realis "nake." "Naku," to cry of insects, echoes "naku," to weep.
Author: Izumi Shikibu
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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