[56] あらざ (Araza)

 Poem Meaning and Background

"Ria Munk on her Deathbed", painting by  Gustav Klimt

あらざらむ・このよのほかの・おもひでに
arazaran・kono yo no hoka no・omoide ni

いまひとたびの・あふこともがな
ima hitotabi no・au koto mo gana

~和泉式部（Lady Izumi Shikibu）

Translation

Soon my life will close.

When I am beyond this world

And have forgotten it,

Let me remember only this:

One final meeting with you.

Meaning

The author of this poem, Izumi Shikibu, was known for having multiple love affairs in her lifetime. One of her love affairs included the 3rd son of Emperor Reizei, Prince Tametaka. She was still married to her husband Michisada when she fell in love with the prince, and their love affair resulted in her husband divorcing her and her family disowning her. Prince Tametaka died at a young age, and after his death, his brother, Prince Atsumichi, began courting her and they also developed a relationship which ended with his death in 1009. Izumi herself ended up contracting a serious illness and felt her life was near its end when she wrote this poem. Who exactly she wanted to meet one more time is unclear, but through her straightforward and earnest poem, we can clearly feel her passionate wish to be reunited with her love one more time before her death. 

あらざらむ (arazaran) means basically 死んでしまうだろう(shinde shimau darō), so the author is expecting that they will soon pass away. この世のほかの（kono yo no hokano) is referring to a world beyond this world, essentially, the afterlife or whatever world might lie beyond this life. 今ひとたび  (ima hitotabi) means もう一度（mō ichido; one more time). もがな is a phrase which expresses a strong wish or hope, in this case, to meet with her love once more. 

Author

        Izumi Shikibu, shown here in a          
c. 1765 Kusazōshi by Komatsuken

Izumi Shikibu (976 ~ death date unknown) married Tachibana no Michisada, the governor of Izumi province. Her name is a combination of her husband's position and her father's official title (master of ceremony, Shikibu). Her daughter, Koshikibu no Taisha, was also a poet and authored [60] Ooe. Though we know she outlived her daughter, her exact date of death is unknown. 

After the death of her lover, Prince Atsumichi, Izumi Shikibu joined Empress Sōshi's court, one of the wives of Emperor Ichijō, who was known for bringing in talented women writers as ladies in waiting. Other women in her court included Murasaki Shikibu (author of [57] Me), Akazome Emon (author of [59] Yasu) and Ise no Taifu (author of [61] Ini), and at some point her daughter, Kishikibu no Taisha. Izumi Shikibu also authored a diary known as Izumi Shikibu Nikki and a collection of poems called Izumi Shikibu-shū.