Kono koro wa chitose ya yuki mo suginuru to ware ya shika omou mimaku hori kamo

このころは千年や行きも過ぎぬると
我れやしか思ふ見まく欲りかも

Roma-ji: Kono koro wa chitose ya yuki mo suginuru to ware ya shika omou mimaku hori kamo
English Translation: In these days of late,
have a thousand years gone by,
passing, passing on;
do I think so, it may be,
since I long so much to see you
Meaning: These days it seems as if a thousand years had passed; do I feel so because I long so to see you?
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 686

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Seven poems by Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue"
She feels as though a thousand years had passed in these days without meeting and asks whether it is because she longs to see him. The exaggerated sense of time conveys the intensity of her longing.
The author, Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue, was a daughter of Ōtomo no Yasumaro and half-sister of Ōtomo no Tabito. She left many poems in the Man'yōshū and is esteemed as a leading woman poet.

First line, "In these days of late," means these days.
Second line, "have a thousand years gone by," uses the questioning ya: a thousand years going on.
Third line, "passing, passing on," means that they have passed.
Fourth line, "do I think so, it may be," means do I think it so?
Fifth line, "since I long so much to see you," uses mimaku, the nominalized form of mimu: is it because I wish to see you?
Author: Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
Source: Manyoshu
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