Saritote wa tare ni ka iwamu ima wa tada hito o wasururu kokoro oshieyo - Shika Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

さりとては誰にか言はむ今はただ
人を忘るる心教へよ

Roma-ji: Saritote wa tare ni ka iwamu ima wa tada hito o wasururu kokoro oshieyo
English Translation: And yet, after all,
to whom else could I say it?
Now, I only ask:
teach me the heart that knows how
to forget the one it loved
Meaning: And yet, to whom else could I say this? Now I ask only one thing: teach me the heart that knows how to forget.
Commentary: Book Eight Love Poems II 267

Addressing the cold beloved, the speaker says that since there is no one else to ask, the beloved should at least teach how to forget. The poem carries, along with resentment, the irony that the one who has forgotten surely knows how it is done.

The first line, "saritote wa" (and yet), turns from what has been felt.
The second line, "tare ni ka iwamu," forms a kakari-musubi of "ka" and the attributive "mu," a rhetorical question — to whom else could I say it? — with a break after the second line.
The third line, "ima wa tada" (now only), narrows the wish to one thing.
The fourth line, "hito o wasururu," is the same line as in the preceding poem, 266; where that poem said the speaker should learn to forget, this one asks the beloved to teach it.
The final line, "kokoro oshieyo," ends with the imperative "oshieyo": teach me the heart that forgets.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shika Wakashu
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