“Birthday” by Kim Hye-Soon

Kim Hye-Soon (image source)

When I open my eyes in the morning,
the bed is full of thorns.
When I listen to music,
thorns gush out of the speakers.
When I walk,
thorns pour out in piles beneath my feet.
Somehow, I’ve become a clock.
Sharp second hands spilling out
of my body.
These second hands
are impatient.
Impatiently,
they pierce me.
When night falls, so does thick rain mixed with second hands.
I try to walk until I’m 100. Until I’m 200.
That distant place.
That too distant place. That brightly shining place
where you and I are living together,
where we are happy.
On your birthday
I’ll give you my wishes
with a cake and candles made of these second hands.



아침에 눈 뜨면
침대에 가시가 가득해요
음악을 들을 땐
스피커에서 가시가 쏟아져요
나 걸어갈 때
발밑에 떨어져 쌓이던 가시들
아무래도 내가 시계가 되었나 봐요
내 몸에서 뾰족한 초침들이
솟아나나 봐요
그 초침들이
안타깝다
안타깝다
나를 찌르나 봐요
밤이 오면 자욱하게 비 내리는 초침 속을 헤치고
백 살 이백 살 걸어가 보기도 해요
저 먼 곳에
너무 멀어 환한 그곳에
당신과 내가 살고 있다고
행복하다고
당신 생일날
그 초침들로 만든 케이크와 촛불로
안부 전해요


“Birthday” (생일) originally appeared in Daum – 70 Representative Korean Poets.

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