Tachiwakare haruka ni iki no matsu nareba koishikarubeki chiyo no kage kana - Shika Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

立ち別れはるかにいきのまつなれば
恋しかるべき千代のかげかな

Roma-ji: Tachiwakare haruka ni iki no matsu nareba koishikarubeki chiyo no kage kana
English Translation: Parting, you will go
far away to Iki's pines,
and so I shall wait,
longing for that shade of yours
that lasts a thousand ages.
Meaning: You part from me and go far off to the pines of Iki, and I will be left to wait; how I shall long for you, like the shade of a pine that endures a thousand ages.
Commentary: Book Six Parting Poems 185

A poem that seems to see off someone bound for the region of Iki no Matsubara, a poetic place in Chikuzen. The place name "iki" is made to carry "going," and "matsu" carries "waiting," weaving in the wish to await the traveler's return, while the pine, said to live a thousand years, adds a blessing for the other's long life.

First line, "tachiwakare," means parting and setting out.
Second line, "haruka ni iki no": "iki" is a pivot meaning both going and the Iki of Iki no Matsubara, a poetic place in Chikuzen.
Third line, "matsu nareba": "matsu" is a pivot meaning both pine and to wait. "Sumiyoshi no matsu" in 177 likewise plays on pine and waiting, so poems entrusting a waiting heart to famous pines answer each other within the book.
Fourth line, "koishikarubeki": the conjectural "beki" means that longing will surely come.
Final line, "chiyo no kage kana": "chiyo" (a thousand ages) recalls the long life of the pine, and "kage" suggests both the shade of the pine and the person's figure. This thousand-year span contrasts with the fleeting human life sung in the next poem, 186.
Author: Yoen
Source: Shika Wakashu
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