Hitokata ni omoi taenishi yo no naka o ikaga wa subeki shizu no odamaki - Shika Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

ひとかたに思ひ絶えにし世の中を
いかがはすべきしづのをだまき

Roma-ji: Hitokata ni omoi taenishi yo no naka o ikaga wa subeki shizu no odamaki
English Translation: Our bond, which I had
so wholly cut off in thought,
what am I to do
with it now — this thread unwound
like spindles of shizu cloth
Meaning: I had cut off all thought of you entirely; what am I to do with our bond now? Like thread wound on a spindle of shizu cloth, can it ever be wound back again?
Commentary: Book Seven Love Poems I 206

The poet wavers over what to do now with a relationship he once resolved to give up for good. Placing the spool of thread called odamaki in the final line, he overlays the snapping and rewinding of thread on his grief that the broken bond cannot be restored.
The poem is said to draw on the conceit of an old poem, also found in The Tales of Ise, which wishes to wind back the past like thread on a spool.

The first line, "hitokata ni" (wholly), shows that he had made up his mind completely.
The second line, "omoi taenishi," uses the perfective "nu" and past "ki" to state that he had severed his feelings. "Tae" (cut off) is an associated word for the thread of the final line.
The third line, "yo no naka o," refers to the bond between lovers.
The fourth line, "ikaga wa subeki" (what am I to do), is a question with "wa," expressing hesitation, and creates a break after the fourth line.
The final line, "shizu no odamaki," names a spool of thread for weaving shizu cloth; ending on a noun, it evokes the wish to rewind the past as thread is wound again.
Author: Fujiwara no Kintō
Source: Shika Wakashu
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