Kyō zo shiru omoiideyo to chigirishi wa wasuren tote no nasake narikeri

今日ぞ知る思ひ出でよと契りしは
忘れんとての情けなりけり

Roma-ji: Kyō zo shiru omoiideyo to chigirishi wa wasuren tote no nasake narikeri
English Translation: Today I know it:
'Remember me,' she promised,
but those words she spoke
were a kindness from one who
meant all along to forget.
Meaning: Today I know: when you promised 'remember me,' it was the kindness of one who meant to forget.
Commentary: Love Poems 685

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Love"
The poet has realized only today that when the beloved once promised, 'Remember me,' it was a show of kindness from one who meant to forget him herself. The poem voices the grief of seeing, with the passing of time, the sign of a changing heart that lay beneath tender words.
It was included in the fourth book of love poems of the Shinkokinshū, with the first line in the form ima zo shiru.

First line, “kyō zo shiru”: today I know; the binding particle zo is answered by the attributive shiru. The poem breaks after the first line.
Second line, “omoiideyo to”: 'remember me,' the beloved's words of long ago; the line has six syllables, one too many.
Third line, “chigirishi wa”: chigiru is to promise: what she promised.
Fourth line, “wasuren tote no”: meaning to forget, that she herself meant to forget.
Fifth line, “nasake narikeri”: nasake is kindness, and narikeri marks realization.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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