classic waka stream

西にのみ心ぞかかるあやめ草
この世ばかりの宿と思へば
Roma-ji

Nishi ni nomi kokoro zo kakaru ayamegusa kono yo bakari no yado to omoeba

English Translation
Toward the west alone
is my heart hung, like the leaves
of the iris here,
for I think this but a lodge
for the span of this world only.
Meaning
My heart is hung on the west alone, like the irises upon the eaves, for I think of this dwelling as a lodging for this world only.
Commentary
Summer Poems 205

Headnote: "In reply to someone who, on the fifth day of the Fifth Month, sent irises to me at a mountain temple, saying they were needed today"
The headnote tells us this poem was a reply to someone who, on the fifth day of the Fifth Month, sent irises to Saigyō at a mountain temple, saying they were needed on that day. Irises are hung on the eaves, but the poet's heart hangs only on the Western Paradise, for he thinks of his dwelling as a lodging for this world alone. Accepting the festival irises, he shows the heart of a monk who longs for the life to come.
The next poem, under the same headnote, also treats the iris and adds the longing for the Western Paradise, so the two together form a single reply.

First line, “nishi ni nomi”: only toward the west, the direction of the Pure Land paradise.
Second line, “kokoro zo kakaru”: zo is answered by the attributive kakaru, with a break after the second line. Kakaru, the heart turning toward something, echoes the hanging of irises on the eaves, making it an associated word with ayamegusa in the third line.
Third line, “ayamegusa”: the irises laid on the eaves at the festival, here the ones that were sent.
Fourth line, “kono yo bakari no”: for this world only, temporary.
Fifth line, “yado to omoeba”: the perfective form with ba, because I think so, giving the reason for the second line afterwards in an inversion.
Author
Saigyō
Source
Sankashu
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Ori ni aite hito ni waga mi ya hikaremashi Tsukuma no numa no ayame nariseba
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Mina hito no kokoro no uki wa ayamegusa nishi ni omoi no hikanu narikeri