Ujigawa no soko no mikuzu to narinagara nao kumo kakaru yama zo koishiki - Kinyo Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

宇治川の底の水屑となりながら
なほ雲かかる山ぞ恋しき

Roma-ji: Ujigawa no soko no mikuzu to narinagara nao kumo kakaru yama zo koishiki
English Translation: Though I have become
like the refuse at the bottom
of the Uji River,
still I long for the mountains
where the clouds hang high above
Meaning: Though I have sunk to become like the debris on the floor of the Uji River, still I long for the mountains where the clouds hang.
Commentary: Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems I 590

Though he has become like debris sunk to the floor of the Uji River, the poet still longs for the mountains where the clouds hang. The heart that still yearns for the cloud-crowned heights though fallen to the state of refuse on a riverbed is expressed through the contrast between the river floor and the mountain heights.
The mountains where clouds hang seem to stand for the court or a noble patron, or a mountain of religious practice. In this book clouds are repeatedly used as a word for the court.

First line, 'Ujigawa no', means of the Uji River in Yamashiro, known for its swift current.
Second line, 'soko no mikuzu to', means as debris on the riverbed, a figure for a fallen and fragile life.
Third line, 'narinagara', means though I have become, using the concessive nagara.
Fourth line, 'nao kumo kakaru', means still where clouds hang, expressing high mountains in contrast to soko, the riverbed, in the second line.
Final line, 'yama zo koishiki', means I long for the mountains, the particle zo answered by the attributive koishiki.
Source: Kinyo Wakashu
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