Mukaiite hitohi mo ochizu mishikadomo itowanu imo o tsuki wataru made

向ひ居て一日もおちず見しかども
厭はぬ妹を月わたるまで

Roma-ji: Mukaiite hitohi mo ochizu mishikadomo itowanu imo o tsuki wataru made
English Translation: Facing each other
not missing a single day
I saw her, and yet
my love I never tired of,
for a month now unseen
Meaning: Though I saw her every day, facing each other without missing one, I never tired of my wife; and now a month has passed without seeing her.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Exchange Poems of Nakatomi no Yakamori and Sano no Otogami no Otome 3756

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Poems exchanged between Nakatomi no Ason Yakamori and Sano no Otogami no Otome"
He laments that he has passed more than a month without seeing the wife he never tired of, though he saw her face to face every day. The fulfilled memories of days lived together are set against the sense of loss in living apart now. Ending abruptly with "tsuki wataru made," he leaves the lament of not seeing her as a lingering resonance.
The author, Nakatomi no Yakamori, was a son of Nakatomi no Azumahito, from the Nakatomi clan in charge of the rites of the gods. He was exiled to Echizen Province for an offense, but was later pardoned and returned to the capital.
A left note reads "the above thirteen poems are by Nakatomi no Ason Yakamori"; the thirteen poems from 3754 to 3766 of this book were sent by Yakamori to the young woman from his place of exile. The latter half of this book contains sixty-three poems exchanged between Nakatomi no Yakamori and Sano no Otogami no Otome. According to the book's table of contents, when Yakamori took as his wife the young woman, a lady-in-waiting of the palace storehouse office, he was exiled to Echizen Province by imperial decree. The place of exile is thought to be Ajimano in Echizen, near present-day Echizen City, Fukui Prefecture.

First line, "mukaiite": facing each other, referring to the days they lived together.
Second line, "hitohi mo ochizu": "otsu" means to be left out: not missing a single day.
Third line, "mishikadomo": "shika" is the realis of the past "ki": though I saw her.
Fourth line, "itowanu imo o": "itou" means to dislike, to grow weary of: the wife I never tired of.
Fifth line, "tsuki wataru made": until a month has passed; it breaks off before the implied "I go without seeing her," leaving a lingering resonance.
Author: Nakatomi no Yakamori
Source: Manyoshu
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