Wakarete wa hodo o hedatsu to omoeba ya katsu minagara ni kanete koishiki - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

別れては程を隔つと思へばや
かつ見ながらにかねて恋しき

Roma-ji: Wakarete wa hodo o hedatsu to omoeba ya katsu minagara ni kanete koishiki
English Translation: Is it because I think
once parted, time will lie between us,
that even now,
while I still see you here,
I long for you already?
Meaning: Is it because I think that once we part, long stretches of time will lie between us? Even now, while you are still before my eyes, I already long for you.
Commentary: Book Eight Parting Poems 372

Headnote: "Composed when a friend was leaving for the provinces"
Facing a friend about to leave for the provinces, the poet begins to long for him while they are still together, perhaps because he foresees the long separation after parting. Like the preceding poem, it portrays a heart that feels the coming loneliness before the parting, and the two are placed side by side.
The author, "Ariwara no Shigeharu," was the second son of Ariwara no Narihira and was known as Zaijikun.

The first line, "once parted," sets a hypothetical condition with te wa, imagining the time after parting.
The second line, "time will lie between us," uses hodo for a gap in time. Where poem 367 speaks of the spatial distance of "beyond the clouds," this poem takes the length of time as its measure.
The third line, "is it because I think," adds the particle ya to a clause of established condition, surmising the cause. The binding of ya is completed by the attributive koishiki in the last line.
The fourth line, "while I still see you," uses katsu, "at the same time," to show the present moment of seeing the friend before one's eyes.
The last line, "I long for you already," uses kanete, "beforehand," for a longing that begins before the parting. It completes the binding begun by ya in the third line with the attributive form. It shares the word koishiki with the second line of the preceding poem.
Author: Ariwara no Shigeharu
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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