Having fathomed how
the lady of the bridge feels,
I pole the shallows,
and with the drops from the pole
my own sleeves have been soaked through

Meaning

Fathoming the heart of the lady of the bridge, I pole through the shallows, and the drops from the pole have soaked my sleeves.

Commentary

Part Three: Hashihime

　Kaoru, by now a regular visitor, sent this out of pity for the loneliness of the sisters living in the mountain village. It belongs to the period after he had seen them, when they had begun to exchange words, and it is the poem from which the chapter takes its name. Oigimi answered, and the two remain within the bounds of courtesy.

　Hashihime is the goddess who guards the bridge, and ever since the Kokinshu poem about a woman spreading her single robe and waiting through the night at Uji, she has stood for a woman who goes on waiting. Kaoru lays the figure over the sisters. Kumu is both to draw water and to fathom another's heart, and takase, sao, and shizuku carry the river through the whole poem. The drops on his sleeve are tears, and speak for the depth of his sympathy.

Author

Murasaki Shikibu

Source

Genji Monogatari

Other

Having fathomed how the lady of the bridge feels, I pole the shallows, and with the drops from the pole my own sleeves have been soaked through

Having fathomed how
the lady of the bridge feels,
I pole the shallows,
and with the drops from the pole
my own sleeves have been soaked through