84 Fujiwara no Kiyosuke Ason — Summary

The speaker makes a quiet, almost prayer-like wish about growing older. If life turns out to be long, they hope the days they are living now will come to feel dear. The second half explains why: past times, even those filled with grief, return gently to the mind. Memory softens what once hurt, turning it into something tender. So the speaker is not asking to forget pain; they are hoping the present will eventually take on that same gentle warmth. The mood is reflective and a little wistful, but not bitter. There is patience and acceptance in it—an understanding that sorrow and fondness can live together in memory. The old-fashioned phrasing adds a hushed, private quality, as if the speaker is voicing a small hope to themselves.