Imo ga sode wakarete hisa ni narinuredo hitohi mo imo o wasurete omoe ya

妹が袖別れて久になりぬれど
一日も妹を忘れて思へや

Roma-ji: Imo ga sode wakarete hisa ni narinuredo hitohi mo imo o wasurete omoe ya
English Translation: Since we parted sleeves,
my love and I,
it has been long,
yet for a single day
could I forget her
Meaning: It has been long since my wife's sleeves and mine were parted, yet not for a single day have I forgotten her.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Poems of the Envoys to Silla 3604

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Old poems recited to suit the place"
A love poem vowing that, though it has been long since parting from his wife, he has not forgotten her for a single day. "Imo ga sode" refers to the wife's sleeves exchanged when sleeping together, from which the parting is told. Though recited as an old poem, to the travelers just setting out on a long journey it must have sounded like a foretaste of the long separation ahead.
According to the headnote, 3602 to 3610 of this book are old poems the travelers recited along the way as suited to the place. Poems not of their own making were thus taken into the travel sequence, showing how people of the time shared old poems and adapted them to the occasion.

First line, "imo ga sode": the wife's sleeves exchanged when sleeping together, symbolizing their intimate days.
Second line, "wakarete hisa ni": "hisa" means a long time: a long while has passed since parting.
Third line, "narinuredo": "nure" is the realis of the perfective "nu," continuing with the adversative "do."
Fourth line, "hitohi mo imo o": not for a single day; repeating "imo" from the first line shows the strength of his feeling.
Fifth line, "wasurete omoe ya": "ya" is rhetorical: could I ever forget her? Never, a firm denial.
Source: Manyoshu
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