Written in Korean & translated by Ihlwha Choi

JAJANGMYEON LOVE After so long I have found myself at the campus where She would walk alongside that simple good-for-nothing boy With a smile on her face. I had set my sights on her. She, who would always be next to that beastly boy. Anyhow I was attracted to her and even if it was only once I wanted to eat jajangmyeon* with her. I found out her mother suffered from polio, I found out her father had remarried. Would she want to hide her limping mother? As I thought these limping thoughts I wanted to eat jajangmyeon with her. I was a young single man. She was like a bird fluttering here and there. I gazed up to the sky where she soared. After so long I am sitting on the bench I sat on When I was in love with her. Looking upwards and backwards into the sky from the past. In that car park, there are more cars than I remember, As I watch the students walking by, I think to myself Are they junior colleagues of mine? Unable to find part-time jobs they walk hurriedly, Only their footsteps are quick. Could there be among these boys one who holds someone Close to his heart, Without a word, someone he would like to eat jajangmyeon with? Her steps-- they come and go -- have after all this time Reached a crossroad. The traffic lights from the past flicker. Was she the only one I have ever lost? The cars they keep coming the traffic lights are red. *Black bean sauce noodles.
Ihlwha Choi is a South Korean poet. He has published multiple poetry collections, such as Until the Time, When Our Love will Flourish, The Color of Time, His Song and The Last Rehearsal.
.
PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL