Hodo shiranu inochi bakari zo sadame naki chigirishi koto wa suminoe no matsu - Izumi Shikibu Nikki(English Translation & Meaning)

ほとしらぬ命計そさためなき
契しことは住の江のまつ

Roma-ji: Hodo shiranu inochi bakari zo sadame naki chigirishi koto wa suminoe no matsu
English Translation: It is only life,
whose span no one can foretell,
that is uncertain;
the vows we made are the pines
that stand at Suminoe
Meaning: Only life, whose length no one can know, is uncertain; the vows we made stand firm as the pines of Suminoe.
Commentary: 43 The Night He Spoke of Taking Vows

On the night of their exchange about the frosty morning, the prince came to Izumi Shikibu and spoke idly as usual, but then he said forlornly, "If, after I have taken you there, I were to go elsewhere or become a monk and no longer see you, would you think it a betrayal?" Wondering how his intentions had changed, and whether such a thing might really happen, she grew very sad and wept. As sleet fell quietly, the prince did not doze for a moment but went on speaking of moving things, not only of this life but of lives to come. She had made up her mind, she thought, to go into what was little better than unexpected service because he disliked nothing about her and she wished to show him her heart; but if things went this way, she would only end up taking vows herself, as she had long wished. Overcome with sorrow, she said nothing and only grieved.
The woman is Izumi Shikibu, daughter of Ōe no Masamune and, as the wife of Tachibana no Michisada, Governor of Izumi, mother of Koshikibu no Naishi. The Prince of the Dazaifu is Prince Atsumichi, fourth son of Emperor Reizei, so called because he served as Governor-General of the Dazaifu.
In answer to her "Shikabakari chigirishi mono o sadame naki sa wa yo no tsune ni omoinase to ya," the prince followed "Utsutsu to wa omowazaranan nenuru yo no yume ni mietsuru uki kotodomo o" with this poem.
After the poem he added, "Ah, you. I only spoke of what might be. It is my own doing, but how wretched I feel." Even afterward she remained sad and could only grieve, but around noon the prince's "Ana koishi ima mo miteshika yamagatsu no kakiho ni ouru yamato nadeshiko" would arrive.

The opening lines mean "it is only life, whose span is unknown," with an intensifying particle, and the third line means "is uncertain," sealed by an emphatic construction. Taking up her "inconstant," he limits what is uncertain to life alone.
The lower verses mean "what we vowed is the pine of Suminoe," Suminoe in Settsu being a famous place whose evergreen, long-lived pines symbolized changelessness, with "matsu," pine, also echoing "waiting." Ending on a noun, he declares firmly that however fleeting life may be, their vow will never change, and so seeks to dispel her fears.
Author: Prince Atsumichi
Source: Izumi Shikibu Nikki
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