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“Lying in the Breeze” and “Reed” by Lee Ji-Soo
Lying in the BreezeI felt the sky.A breeze blowing coolly,trees gently rustling.I ride a cloudand feel the sky. ReedWalking through the grass,reedssway softly,shake.It seems like I’ll take flight. These poems were written by Lee Ji-Soo, a child who participates in a poetry group called Perpetual Tree (계속나무) which started through partnership with a library. As part…
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“Fallen Leaves, First Love” by Kim Seon-Woo
1If at the edge of a dizzying cliff you’repacing in the face of the wind, I won’t call out to you.Clinging to your collar, I won’t be an overbearing noise. What could your reason be?I will be behind youwith my share of love to watch over you till the end.Even though you don’t hold out…
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“Railroad” by Ahn Do-Hyeon
Go not alonebut together.Walk not ahead nor behindbut in step.At distancethat cannot compareto the amount of our tender longing.Live calling each other’s names.Until the day you reach an inhabited village,go not alonebut together. 혼자 가는 길보다는둘이서 함께 가리앞서지도 뒤서지도 말고 이렇게나란히 떠나가리서로 그리워하는 만큼닿을 수 없는거리가 있는 우리늘 이름을 부르며 살아가리사람이 사는 마을에 도착하는 날까지혼자…
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“And It Grows Darker” by Kim Myeong-In
Whether promising or obscuring,there’s an awful glow, I know, for anyone,which piles higher than the polar lights.On this bank, a disappearing overpass, a disappearing river.On the other, I see a willow forest,thick snowflakes tangled together,and with them, roads which called me down their paths, now fading away.For some reason, you wander the fields for a…
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“Backcountry Metaphor” by Shin Yong-Mok
Like an amputee’s discarded leg,I’m lying down.Somebody closes a window. The passing sky overhead resembles bloodstains on an empty ICU bed in a darkened room. Someone is leaving me. The hurried clack, clack of crutches. Where could my youth be going?Unwrapping the bandages in the delicate red of the evening light,I see infection setting in…
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“Fortunate Things” by Kim So-Yeon
Rain is falling. When rain falls, I take out my cardigan from the closet to put on. When I wear my cardigan, I place my hands in the pockets. When I place my hands in the pockets, I feel the seashells inside them. It’s morning. Rain is falling. In the past these shells from who…
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“Me, You” by Park Sang-Soon
I wish that you didn’t get angry watching a stream,even when it rises to overflow its banks. I wish that I wasn’t afraid of coming across a cat in the night,that even if that night cat bit your ankle, you would stay on your feet, unaffected. I wish that I didn’t dream about you,that the…
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“To Someone” by Moon Jeong-Hee
I’ve come here avoid somebody, yet here I am missing someone.Somebody, who are you?Stars crawl out and fill the night sky,resting their warmth against a cold body.They call out a name.By early madness and misfortune, by treasured sin,I’ve become a poet,but where is the space for me to fill?I wanted to dig into emptiness and…