Tag: South Korean

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Poetry

Dangerous Coexistence

Poetry and translation from Korean by Ihlwha Choi

In an Indian Santiniketan guesthouse,
I swatted a buzzing mosquito with my palm,
But it seems I hit the mosquito's back instead.
Startled, it hurriedly flew away.

On a summer night in Seoul,
A single mosquito is scouting my room with its buzzing wings.
I struck it with the fan I had,
Like a roof being blown away by a tornado,
The mosquito spiralled and shot up towards the ceiling.

Even after the fan's breeze subsided for quite some time,
It still seems not quite in its senses,
Continuing to buzz around every nook and cranny of the ceiling.

This mosquito is engaged in a dangerous coexistence,
I wonder if it has stockpiled emergency rations other than humans!

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 the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

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

Categories
Poetry

The Wind and the Door

Poetry & translation from Korean by Ihlwha Choi

Courtesy: Creative Commons
The door slammed shut with a thud.
And then, with another thud, it swung open again.
The door that should have remained closed,
Opened, allowing the unwanted noises and the wind
To fill the room.
The wind outside and the clamour assail me,
So, I gather myself and politely shut the door once more.
The door becomes calm again.
The wind finds its own path among the alleys of wind,
And the room becomes tranquil,
Filled with the stillness of the room, the air of the room,
And the thoughts of the room.

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 the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

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

Categories
Poetry

Loneliness

Written by and translated from Korean by Ihlwha Choi

Korean landscape. Courtesy: Creative Commons
LONELINESS

Like a breeze, I tread softly.
Sitting in the spring sun, gazing at the green mountain valley,
Life is truly a lonely thing.
Even with yesterday's memories and tomorrow's hopes,
Even with friends coming and going, amidst the daily bustles,
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 in the grassy field, gazing at the lake's waves,
Even this blossoming season is lonely like this.

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 the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

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

Categories
Poetry

Birds are Alive

Written by and translated from Korean by Ihlwha Choi

Courtesy: Creative Commons
When I was young, I chased birds day and night.
I looked up at trees and wandered through fields to find them.
That passion lives fully in a corner of my heart.
Birds were my friends.
They were my lovers for a long time.
They were the faith that breathed blue vitality into my free soul.

I tried to catch a bird that never came to my hand,
Countless times but failed.
That was the bird that built its home and fed its young,
The bird that lived like a king in the middle of the sky and earth.

To the bird, I was a dangerous beast,
But to me, the bird was an immortal soul and a magnificent dream.

Birds have their own personalities.
Each bird flaps its wings differently.
They sing with their unique voices.
They meticulously choose their housing lot and build the house geometrically.
They are experts in raising their young and brave soldiers.
They are faithful fathers and mothers who build their homes with trust and love.
When the time comes, they proudly let their children go.

Birds always live in places higher than humans.
They greet the morning and welcome spring before humans.
They live closer to trees than humans.
Loving birds is like loving stars.
I don't know how to love birds.
But those birds all live in my heart.
My life is a long journey to find birds.
Sometimes I close my eyes and look far away,
Because I want to apologise to the birds.
The birds never entrusted themselves to me.
They were never tamed by my touch.
Like the birds, dreams and love cannot be tamed.
The dream and poems that have never entrusted themselves to me resemble the birds.

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 the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

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

Categories
Poetry

Bonfire by Ihlwha Choi

Translated from Korean by Ihlwha Choi

Courtesy: Creative Commons
BONFIRE 

You are the wood,
I am the bonfire,
I embrace you and burn intensely.
You nestle in me
and ignite a brilliant flame.
In the pitch-black darkness,
in the biting cold that burns the flesh,
you disappear in the blaze,
and I, following you, am consumed.
You are the bonfire,
I am the wood,
in this fervent life we share.

Ihlwha Choi is a South Korean poet. He has published multiple poetry collections, such as Until the Time When Our Love will Flourish, The Colour 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 the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Categories
Poetry

Lunch Time

Written in Korean and translated by Ihlwha Choi 

Courtesy: Creative Commons
LUNCH TIME

Magpies eat the cat's lunch after the feline finishes.
Sparrows eat the leftovers after the magpies finish.
Since a monk gave the cat something to eat,
The cat ate lunch with relish.
The magpies and sparrows also were satiated. 
After all finished their lunch,
The monk entered his sunbang* to take a nap.
The cat climbed to the hill to rest in the shade.
The magpie and sparrows scattered in the field to play with friends.

*sunbang(禪房):A room for Zen meditation at a Buddhist temple

Ihlwha Choi is a South Korean poet. He has published multiple poetry collections, such as Until the Time When Our Love will Flourish, The Colour 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

Categories
Poetry

Confessions

Written by and translated from Korean by Ihlwha Choi

Courtesy: Creative Commons
I decided to bring a baby bird from the nest,
Only to live with a beautiful spring song.
When I brought it from the nest
I'd no time to be aware of the tears of the mother bird.
I gave the baby bird water to quench its thirst.
I gave it food to satiate its hunger.
It died.
I recalled my own childhood…
Realised what I'd done while reading the wisdom of the Saint.
It's not right to give water to the baby bird,
Nor proper to give it something to eat,
But leave it to cherish the warmth of the bosom of mother bird
And the blue sky where it flies as much as it likes.
Only when it grows up hearing the song of mother bird
It will become an ethereal minstrel* singing high in the sky.

*William Wordsworth's poem: To the skylark

Ihlwha Choi is a South Korean poet. He has published multiple poetry collections, such as Until the Time When Our Love will Flourish, The Colour 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

Categories
Poetry

Saturday Afternoon

Written by and translated from Korean by Ihlwha Choi

Courtesy: Creative Commons
Sitting in a humble bar,
Two men in late sixties are talking friendly.
 
Sitting alone in the corner I drain my glass.
 
They are retired salaried men I suppose.
I realise the fact as words drift from their conversation.
After leaving their lifelong work,
Maybe, they are talking about their bygone days.
 
I wonder if they got a large amount of retirement pay?
Are they getting enough pension to sustain old age?
 
Across the tables from a distance,
I am now looking at myself of tomorrow,
On a relaxed Saturday afternoon,
While the sun continues to shine brightly outside

Ihlwha Choi is a South Korean poet. He has published multiple poetry collections, such as Until the Time When Our Love will Flourish, The Colour of Time, His Song and The Last Rehearsal.

.

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