-
·
“Let’s Write Love Letters” by Kim Haeng-Sook
Beneath a circlecut out of the darkness under a stand of light,you too wonder, like a passing dream,if you’ve ever received one.Then say, “Let’s write old-fashioned love letters.” What can I hope for with this love letter?The sea’s lighthouse?Something as difficult to find as an oasis in the desert?A dream-filled eye?When the time comes,let’s write…
-
·
“Teeth Dance” by Lee Soo-Myeong
When he got home he would take out his teeth. Smiling toothlessly into the mirror, he would lay them down in a cup in the bathroom. When morning came, he would put them back in one tooth at a time, then leave for work. One day, after returning particularly tired, he awoke to a strange…
-
·
“Wave” by Lee Soo-Myeong
A body having thrown itself does not rise. What rises is an eagle, an eagle’s eye, and carried in that eye, a flame. A fire burning over water, only an endless wave. 몸을 던진 사람은 떠로르지 않는다 떠오르는 것을 독수리 독수리의 눈 눈에서 이는 불길 물 위에는 타오르는 불길 끝없는 물결일뿐 Wave (물결) appears in…
-
·
“Black Monday 4” by Jang Kyeong-Rin
Apartment 502 must be stepping out.The door’s electronic latch and bellcall out as it closes.Apartment 502 must be taking the dog for a walk. When the dog that barked viciouslyon leaving the apartment became quiet,the noise in my head grew louder. A sceneof silent barking, struggling, is still vivid in my eyes.I felt increasingly uneasy at thesurrealness of…
-
·
“Rainy Day” by Lee Soo-Myeong
On a rainy day, I sheltered a drenched man under my umbrella. From beneath it, he spoke without pausing — all words I couldn’t understand. Each word piled slowly inside me, bringing my blood to a stop. On the seafloor, a red hermit crab crawled. For less than a moment, the sea swayed and the…
-
·
“Boomerang” by Kim Yeong-Seung
Why does a boomerang return? Toolfor clubbing and catching,killing in an instant.A returning boomerangis thrown wrong.Boomerangs do not return.They declare and admit fault.They’re for going home,crushed and penitent.They’re not for premeditated mistakesbut for giving in, surrender. My boomerang does not return.Just one toss, a single departure,and when it leaves my handone throw brings one death,…
-
·
“The Someone I Love” by Jeong Ho-Seung
I don’t love someone who has no shadow.I don’t love someone who doesn’t love shadows.I love someone who has become shade for a tree.Neither shine nor shadow but dazzling,how beautiful is lifeseated in the shade of a treestaring into sparkling sunlight between leaves! I don’t love someone who has no tears.I don’t love someone who…
-
·
“The Dead Do Age” by Song Jae-Hak
Each year my mother goes to a photo studio.It’s there where my father ages.Where the lines of my mother’s forehead softenand in an instant, for a moment, they become my father’s wrinkles.She softly puts in place the few hairs on his head,easily turning them deep and dark as charcoal.It’s always there, with my father dressed…