Tag: South Korean

Categories
Poetry

The Bird’s Funeral

Poetry and translation from Korean by Ihlwha Choi

Last night, in the bitter cold,
the bird died.
We decided on a five-day funeral,
debating whether to bury or cremate,
and finally chose a sky burial
on a sunlit grassy hill.
After preparing the body
and finishing the rites,
we headed to the burial site.
A green parrot,
untimely lost, died unaware of the season.
Leaves had just begun to sprout,
and the spring wind blew
across the bright meadow.
Driving the hearse to the site,
we scattered grains for the journey,
and laid the body gently
amid the dry grass.
In the distance, clouds billowed
like funeral banners,
and after a few sparrows
came to pay their respects,
the funeral was over.
The bird had died,
but its flight lived on.
When we returned for the third memorial,
the bird was nowhere to be seen—
its rain-soaked remains
had dried and scattered in the wind.

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

Categories
Poetry

My Father’s Jacket

Poetry and translation from Korean by Ihlwha Choi

From Public Domain
The father, who is nearing the end of his life in this world,
gave me his winter jacket.
A black jacket he once wore with style,
on which thick snowflakes piled on cold shoulders,
a jacket that warmed itself by the stove in a soup restaurant.

A jacket with mismatched buttons,
worn through a life marked by crooked paths,
Unable to rest peacefully at the center of the universe,
tossing and turning like a migratory bird that had lost its way,
wandering through unfamiliar lands,
spending sleepless nights in the cold.
So that I may spend my winters warmly,
so that I may button my life neatly and live upright,
my father handed me his jacket,
like an offering of regret.
In the early winter that chills the heart again and again,
wearing my father’s outdated winter jacket,
I briefly trace the worn path of his difficult life.

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

Categories
Poetry

Lines on returning to Korea from Santiniketan

Poetry and translation from Korean by Ihlwha Choi

Santiniketan
Korea
From Public Domain
HOMECOMING 

(From Santiniketan)
 
How much longer will my life's list remain?
The journey, from trivialities to its end, is nearing.
I gauge the volume of toothpaste and soap scraps,
Count the dates of paid meals—homecoming is at hand.
Writing a day's journal, I confirm the remaining path.
The budget thins as much as my frame,
Unfinished books and unfulfilled plans erased,
Leaving behind the sprawling naps of stray dogs
And the countless steps of wandering gods.
Like autumn trees shedding leaves, I gather my departure.
Endless cycles of meeting and parting,
The wheel of samsara* turns again.
With the endless procession of foreign words fading,
I return again to a long-familiar daily life.
Affection, like water colour, spreads too easily.
The resilient chains of bonds encircle me like tree rings,
I endure the pain like a sharp needle's prick,
Packing all my lingering regrets carefully into my backpack.
How many seasons must pass
For the pain to ripen and fall once more?



*Sanskrit word for World

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

Categories
Poetry

A Spring Afternoon in Korea

Poetry and translation from Korean by Ihlwha Choi

From Public Domain 
ON THE RESERVED SEAT SECTION OF THE SUBWAY 
                                            

A grandfather with his young granddaughter boards the train.
He pauses briefly in front of the reserved seats, then sits down.
As the little girl tries to sit, he explains, 
"This seat is for grandpas and grandmas."

Beside the seats, there’s a small sign,
showing a person with a cane, a person with a round belly,
a person on crutches, a person holding a baby.

The subway clanks along,
and the child stands in front of the reserved seat section,
fiddling with a smartphone.

Sitting on a nearby seat, I almost say,
“Sit next to your grandpa,” but hold back—
It might sound like encouragement to break the rules.
Children should learn to follow public etiquette.

She tries perching on an empty seat,
but stands up quickly after a moment,
still toying with her phone.

On this sunny spring afternoon,
the grandfather, eyes gently closed, sits in the reserved seat,
while the spring sunlight shines beside him.

His young granddaughter stands, swaying as she clutches the pole,
clanking forward, toward tomorrow.


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

Categories
Poetry

Hidden Springs

Poetry and translation from Korean by Ihlwha Choi

From Public Domain
THE SOURCE 


I once believed that writing poetry was the expression of noble emotions, the realisation of profound thoughts. 
But I've come to understand with age that this isn't the case.

I once thought that love was as urgent as matters of life and death, residing in a special, noble realm.
But now, in my later years, I realise that this was a mistake born of blind faith.

Looking back from the downstream of life, I see that poetry and love resemble the mundane things of daily life,
mixed with the noise and dust of the marketplace.

They emerge like sprouts in the midst of weariness, in anxious toil, during sleepless nights of deep contemplation,
and on the exhausting commute to home after work, welling up like a hidden spring

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

Categories
Poetry

Loneliness

Poetry and translation from Korean by Ihlwha Choi

Pond near Springfield by Oscar Grosch (1863–1928). From Public Domain.
Like a breeze, I walk lightly.
Sitting in the spring sun,
Gazing at the green valley,
Life is truly a lonely thing.

Even with yesterday's memories and tomorrow's hopes,
Even with friends coming and going and daily business,
Living is truly a lonely thing.

All day today, I've been thinking of you.
Is my life lonely because I miss you?
Is this spring day lonely because you're there?

Like a breeze, I walk aimlessly.
Sitting on the grassy field, gazing at the waves in the lake,
Even this blossoming season feels lonely

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

Categories
Poetry

The Long Journey

Poetry and translation from Korean by Ihlwha Choi

Poppy Field (Monet interpretation) by Kateryna Sabudska (Ukraine), Saatchi Art. FRom Public Domain 
THE LONG JOURNEY 

A journey no one else can join
A long journey my mother has taken alone

In this place where I lived with my mother
Standing alone in the wind-blown world
I look at the long, distant path
Where my mother has gone

Even if the angels in heaven
Wipe away my mother's tears
And offer her a bouquet of flowers

Without her son, her daughter-in-law
Without her granddaughters,
How lonely must my mother be!

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

Categories
Poetry

At the Tip of a Thistle Tree …

Poetry and translation from Korean by Ihlwha Choi

NOW, WHAT I CAN DO...
 
Presenting a poem as a member of a poets' group,
Climbing the mountain hoping not to disturb the peace of birds and trees, I can look around,
Feeling relieved that quitting smoking was a good decision.
I think it's time to quit drinking after reflecting on over-drinking the other day,
Think it's better to eat lesser for health.
I sit on a sesame field or at the tip of a thistle tree like a red dragonfly.
Yielding the television to the family,
I return to my room and browse over poetry I used to enjoy.
Finally, I look back on not being a good father figure,
Finding excuses though to say that isn't it in my heart.

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

Categories
Poetry

The Tobacco Lover 

Poetry and translation from Korean by Ihlwha Choi

A gentleman in a suit descends in the elevator from the eighth floor
and walks to the base of a maple tree, lighting a cigarette.
From the twelfth floor, another gentleman in a suit walks down the corridor,
takes the elevator down the stairs, and heads to the shade of the maple tree,
lighting another cigarette.
 
Several people gather, lighting their cigarettes,
but no words are exchanged among them.
Conversations reside within the smoke of their cigarettes.
 
It's been seventeen years since
a comedian did a no-smoking public service announcement and left.
 
Through the respiratory track and lung rotations,
the smoke, exhaled from mouths and nostrils, disperse,
but the scent clings to the tongue, gums, and roof of the mouth.
 
Carcinogens are sprayed into blood vessels, brain cells, and nerve cells,
and the smell permeates ties, fingers, and hair.
The carcinogens refill the elevator and ascend
from the first floor to the second, then to the twelfth.
 
Ignoring the sensitive noses of customers has become a habit.
I believe in the saying, "You grow to love what you know."

How can one understand the heart of someone who doesn't know the taste of tobacco,
as they leave the office, ride the elevator, and head to the shade of the maple tree to light up a cigarette?
The relationship between tobacco, its lovers, and the maple tree is expected to continue for a while longer.

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

Categories
Poetry

Rough Stone

Poetry and translation from Korean by Ihlwha Choi

You've lived your life not knowing
That you carry an unpolished gem within.
Only after you're gone do we realise
That your façade was indeed of a rough stone,
Leaving behind the task of gouging the gem.
You departed this world as a single, rough stone,
Departing to the afterlife, leaving behind rough stones.
The world is filled with them.
Some are polished to shine bright,
Only to become rough stones again.
Now is the time to polish that stone,
To shape it with hammer and chisel,
And seat you in your rightful place.
You must quickly extract the gem within
For only then will this rough stone
Transform into a vibrant spirit in life.
How many sleepless nights must be endured,
How many days of hardship overcome,
To polish the stone you left behind,
To complete the unfinished You.
Extracting the shining gem within that stone
Is the resurrection of Yourself.

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