Tag: South Korean

Poetry and translation from Korean by Ihlwha Choi

 WALKING TOGETHER 

On the grass of a village park,
filled with the light of spring,
pigeons have gathered,
pecking at scattered food.

Three city pigeons 
and two wild doves—
their feathers seem alike, yet different;
their bodies and expressions seem different,
yet somehow alike.

They do not keep their distance
or fly away wary with fear.
They mingle like old friends
from the same neighbourhood.

Recognising each other’s differences,
communicating without discrimination—
their quiet gathering 
is like an open, spacious scroll painting
from the East.

City pigeons and wild doves—
what kind of relationship
might there be between them?

Are they neighbours,
like people who left their homeland
and met one another in a foreign land?

Or a multicultural family
out for a spring picnic,
taking a little time away
from the routines of life?

Could this be a scene of empathy,
where newcomers from the North
walk together with others?

Or a place of reconciliation,
where winners and losers,
after an election,
accept the result
and come together as one?

Each dressed
in its own distinctive plumage,
they mingle as though
speaking heart to heart—
a quiet scene of coexistence.

Whether they know or do not know
of the turmoil on the other side of the earth,
on this bright and gentle spring day
they simply walk together,
warmly, in the sunlight.

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.

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PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

Click here to access Wild Winds: The Borderless Anthology of Poems

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Poetry and translation from Korean by Ihlwha Choi

BLAZING SUMMER SUN

The blazing summer sun
pours down fiercely
so that sweat streams from our bodies
and our faces grow dark with tan.

When sweat pours down,
it tells us to stand in the breeze;
when our faces are darkened by the sun,
it tells us to rest in the shade.
The blazing sun keeps calling us outside.

It calls everyone out
to see the rice thriving in the paddies,
the beans flourishing in the bean fields,
growing stronger day by day.

To see the potatoes in the potato patch,
the sorghum in the sorghum field,
waving and growing tall—

the blazing summer sun shines down
throughout the whole of midsummer.

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.

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PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

Click here to access Wild Winds: The Borderless Anthology of Poems

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Poetry and translation from Korean by Ihlwha Choi

In those far-off, flower-like days,
before a flickering oil lamp,
I wrote, then erased, then wrote again—
Running only toward you, always toward you,
like the tender heart of first love,
I bloom at last into a single, radiant flower.
This longing, both aching and earnest,
must be a precious gift for me by the Creator.
Ah, dear companion,
will this yearning, burning beneath the scorching sky,
one day fade— as the breeze drifts softly through the autumn fields,
leaving me standing alone in the empty plain,
shivering and weeping in the cold wind?
Today, under the blazing heat of the noonday sun,
my life burns hot with passion.
Even I can no longer contain my heart,
beneath the shining sun,
as all living things sway in the hymn of life,
I, too, offer my heart
like a great lantern of petals turned solely toward you.
In this long, hot summer field,
all day long, I am consumed by this fiery devotion.

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. 

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Click here to access Monalisa No Longer Smiles on Kindle Amazon International

Poetry and translation from Korean by Ihlwha Choi

Every time I write to you a letter,
I pray it won’t be the last.
Why is my love so unstable?

If I look away for just a moment,
it feels as if you might fly far away.
I hope this letter isn’t the last.

But if the seasons change,
and I hear nothing back from you,
this could become the last letter.

That word — last — brings sorrow.

If I receive no reply from you,
and this letter is
the final one I ever send,
then winter will come,
and I’ll watch the snow fall alone.
Spring will come again,
and I’ll walk the blooming fields by myself.

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. 

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Click here to access Monalisa No Longer Smiles on Kindle Amazon International

Poetry and translation from Korean by Ihlwha Choi

I got distracted and pressed delete by mistake --
a poem I had laboured over for more than ten days, gone.

I try to retrace it, like under hypnosis,
but only shattered words lie scattered in my mind.

I scramble to piece the fragments together,
but the lines in between are beyond recovery.

A poem has no blueprint,
just as life offers no formula to fall back on.

One poem, broken to bits.
One thought, fading into the distance.

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. 

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Click here to access Monalisa No Longer Smiles on Kindle Amazon International

Poetry and translation from Korean by Ihlwha Choi

All day long, I live among strangers.
I sit side by side with a stranger on the bus, rattling along,
Choose tomatoes at the market with someone I don’t know.
My elementary school friends live far away,
And I’ve lost touch with my comrades from the army.
Childhood friends I flew kites with,
Neighbours I once shared raw sweet potatoes with —I’ve lost track of them.
Every day, I meet people, eat lunch together,
Chat like old acquaintances for a moment,
But soon, we become strangers again.
I exchange words with the dry cleaner,
Grumble about the world with the local barber,
But soon, we become strangers again.
For a while, I’m familiar with the doctor as a patient,
Live like family with the nurses,
But as soon as I’m discharged, 
we become strangers again.
Those who were once close become distant,
Drinking buddies who once felt like brothers turn into strangers before I know it.
A strange world gradually becomes familiar,
And the familiar world, once again, turns strange.

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. 

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Click here to access Monalisa No Longer Smiles on Kindle Amazon International

Poetry and translation from Korean by Ihlwha Choi

Embraced in a friend’s arms,
a framed portrait enters the school gate.

Wearing glasses, dressed in a school uniform,
With a heavy backpack,
He walked sluggishly to school every day.
But today, it’s the last time, surrounded by friends.

The principal follows behind.
The homeroom teacher trails along, gloomy.
The old security guard stands in his booth,
watching the procession through the glass window.
A short while later, the procession leaves again.
Along the school fence, yellow
forsythias bloom like black mourning ribbons.

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. 

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Click here to access Monalisa No Longer Smiles on Kindle Amazon International