Wakarete wa kinō kyō koso hedatetsure chiyo o hetaru kokochi nomi suru - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

別れては昨日今日こそ隔てつれ
千代を経たる心地のみする

Roma-ji: Wakarete wa kinō kyō koso hedatetsure chiyo o hetaru kokochi nomi suru
English Translation: Since we said farewell,
only yesterday, today,
have come in between,
and yet it feels to me as if
a thousand years had gone by.
Meaning: Since we parted, only yesterday and today have come between us, yet all I feel is that a thousand years have passed.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 1237

Headnote: "Having some grievance, he swore he would never come again; about two days later he sent this."
This is the fourth poem of the sequence of love exchanges. Only yesterday and today have passed since the parting, the speaker says, yet it feels like a thousand years. According to the headnote, the author, holding a grievance, swore never to visit again, but after about two days sent this poem to the woman.
The author, "Lord Kentoku," is Fujiwara no Koretada. The eldest son of the Minister of the Right Fujiwara no Morosuke, he rose to regent and grand minister and was called the Ichijō Regent. Kentoku is the posthumous title given to him.
The woman answers in the next poem, 1238.
In the main text, the fourth line reads "chiyo o hetaru," which does not match "chiyo shimo hetaru" in the reading line. Here the main text is followed.

The first line, "wakarete wa," means "since we parted." The particles "te wa" focus on the time after the parting.
The second line, "kinō kyō koso," means "only yesterday and today." The particle "koso" is answered by the perfective form "hedatetsure" in the third line.
The third line, "hedatetsure," means "have come between, and yet." The "koso" construction turns concessive and runs on, setting the shortness of two days against the thousand years that follow.
The fourth line, "chiyo o hetaru," means "as if a thousand years had passed." The extreme contrast between two days and a thousand years is the heart of the poem.
The last line, "kokochi nomi suru," means "that is all I feel." It frankly admits that the bravado of his vow never to return collapsed within two days.
Author: Fujiwara no Koretada
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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