Toshi furedo hito mo susabenu waga koi ya kuchiki no soma no tani no umoregi - Kinyo Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

年経れど人もすさべぬ我が恋や
くちきの杣の谷の埋もれ木

Roma-ji: Toshi furedo hito mo susabenu waga koi ya kuchiki no soma no tani no umoregi
English Translation: Though the years go by,
no one cares for it at all,
this love of mine:
a sunken log in the valley
of Kuchiki's timber hills
Meaning: Though years go by, she does not even take it up to pass the time; is this love of mine a log buried in the valley of the timber hills of Kuchiki, rotting away?
Commentary: Book Seven Love Poems I 383

The poet's love, unregarded by the beloved through all the years, is like a log rotting buried in the valley of the timber hills of Kuchiki. The buried log that decays unknown carries a love that goes unrewarded.
Some manuscripts give the headnote 'Composed on the sentiment of love.'
The author, Akisuke, is Fujiwara no Akisuke. A son of Fujiwara no Akisue, founder of the Rokujō Fujiwara house, he rose to Master of the Western Capital Office and compiled the Shikawakashū at the command of Retired Emperor Sutoku.

First line, 'toshi furedo', means though the years pass, using the concessive do.
Second line, 'hito mo susabenu', means she does not even take it up for her amusement, meaning it goes unregarded.
Third line, 'waga koi ya', means my love, the particle ya posing a question.
Fourth line, 'kuchiki no soma no', is a pivot word in which kuchiki means both Kuchiki, a place in Ōmi, and kuchiki, a rotting tree, left in kana. A soma is a mountain where timber is cut.
Final line, 'tani no umoregi', is a log buried and rotting in the valley, closing with a noun. Like 'the hidden water of the valley' in the preceding poem, 382, it sings of a valley, and it also answers 'uzumorete' in poem 368 in this book.
Author: Fujiwara no Akisuke
Source: Kinyo Wakashu
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