Katatoki mo mineba koishiki kimi o okite ayashi ya ikuyo hoka ni nenuran - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

片時も見ねば恋しき君をおきて
あやしや幾夜ほかに寝ぬらん

Roma-ji: Katatoki mo mineba koishiki kimi o okite ayashi ya ikuyo hoka ni nenuran
English Translation: Away from you,
whom I miss if I do not see
for a single moment,
how strange—how many nights
must I sleep elsewhere now
Meaning: Leaving you, whom I miss if I do not see you for even a moment—how strange it is—how many nights must I spend sleeping elsewhere?
Commentary: Book Ten Love Poems II 677

Headnote: "At a time when the direction was blocked, as he was leaving to change direction."
The poet wonders how many nights he must sleep elsewhere, leaving her whom he misses if he does not see her even for a moment. He laments having to spend nights apart from his beloved because of a change of direction.
According to the headnote, he composed it when, the direction being blocked, he was setting out to change direction. "Katatagae" was the custom of first stopping elsewhere to avoid a direction deemed unlucky by yin-yang divination.
The poet, Fujiwara no Arifumi, lived in the mid Heian period, and few details of his life have come down to us.

The first line, "Katatoki mo," means "even for a moment."
The second line, "mineba koishiki," means "whom I miss if I do not see."
The third line, "kimi o okite," means "leaving you," and has six syllables, one more than usual.
The fourth line, "ayashi ya ikuyo," means "how strange, how many nights," with "ayashi ya" an exclamation questioning his own conduct.
The last line, "hoka ni nenuran," means "will I sleep elsewhere."
Author: Fujiwara no Arifumi
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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