Ukine seshi mizu no ue nomi koishikute kamo no uwage ni sae zo otoranu - Murasaki Shikibu Nikki(English Translation & Meaning)

浮き寝せし水の上のみ恋しくて
鴨の上毛にさへぞ劣らぬ

Roma-ji: Ukine seshi mizu no ue nomi koishikute kamo no uwage ni sae zo otoranu
English Translation: Only the water
where we slept afloat together
do I miss so much—
not even the frosted feathers
of the wild duck are colder
Meaning: I long only for those nights at court when we slept side by side like birds afloat on the water; now the chill of sleeping alone is no less than the frost on a wild duck's feathers.
Commentary: 24 Sorrow at Home and the Exchange with Lady Dainagon

In the eleventh month of Kankō 5 (1008), as Empress Shōshi's return to the palace drew near, the copying of The Tale of Genji into bound volumes was under way at the Tsuchimikado mansion. Watching the waterbirds multiply on the pond day by day, Murasaki had hoped for snow before the return. But she had gone home for a short while, and two days later the snow fell. The unremarkable trees of her family home brought her no cheer; friends with whom she had once shared tales had drifted away, and she was made to feel how deeply court service had changed her. Amid all this she found herself longing for Lady Dainagon, who had lain beside her near the Empress night after night, talking with her.
Lady Dainagon was Minamoto no Renshi, daughter of Minamoto no Sukenori and a niece of Michinaga's principal wife, Minamoto no Rinshi. She served Empress Shōshi as a lady of high rank and was close to Murasaki.
In the loneliness of her stay at home, Murasaki missed Lady Dainagon, with whom she had talked night after night at court, and sent her this poem.
Lady Dainagon replied with "Uchiharau tomo naki koro no nezame ni wa tsugaishi oshi zo yowa ni koishiki," and Murasaki, seeing that even her handwriting was lovely, thought her a truly flawless person. Soon after, she heard that the Empress regretted her absence at the time of the snow, and a letter from Rinshi urged her to come back, so she returned to court.

The opening lines mean that she longs only for the court where they slept side by side, like waterbirds floating on the water. "Afloat" carries an echo of sorrow, the water stands for the days of court service, and the past-tense auxiliary looks back on days now gone.
The lower verses say that the cold is no less than that of a wild duck's frosted feathers, entrusting the chill and loneliness of sleeping alone to a winter waterbird. Linked to her earlier gazing at the waterbirds on the pond as she awaited the snow, the poem is built entirely from the imagery of waterfowl.
Author: Murasaki Shikibu
Source: Murasaki Shikibu Nikki
Prev Poem: Ashitazu no yowai shi araba kimi ga yo no chitose no kazu mo kazoetoritemu
Next Poem: Uchiharau tomo naki koro no nezame ni wa tsugaishi oshi zo yowa ni koishiki