Omoiki ya aiminu koto o itsu yori to kazou bakari ni nasan mono to wa - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

思ひきやあひ見ぬことをいつよりと
数ふばかりになさん物とは

Roma-ji: Omoiki ya aiminu koto o itsu yori to kazou bakari ni nasan mono to wa
English Translation: Did I ever think
that this time of not meeting
I would come to count,
asking, "Since when has it been?"
so long would it go on
Meaning: Did I ever imagine that our not meeting would go on so long that I would have to count back to when it began?
Commentary: Book Ten Love Poems II 668

Headnote: "Sent to a woman he had not met for a long time."
The poet asks whether he ever imagined that their separation would last so long that he would count back to when it began. He expresses the length of the days without meeting as an unforeseen grief.
According to the headnote, it was sent to a woman he had not met for a long time.
The poet, whose name is written in kana in the text, is Minamoto no Saneakira, a son of Minamoto no Kintada, who served as Governor of Mutsu, among other posts. He is one of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals and is also known for his exchange of love poems with Nakatsukasa.

The first line, "Omoiki ya," is rhetorical: "did I ever think so?"—I never did. The poem pauses here.
The second line, "aiminu koto o," means "our not meeting."
The third line, "itsu yori to," means "since when it has been."
The fourth line, "kazou bakari ni," means "to the point of counting."
The last line, "nasan mono to wa," means "that it would come to this," inverted with the first line.
Author: Minamoto no Saneakira
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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