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“Brought to Bend” by Lee Soo-Myeong
You’re standing at the end of a corridor. Tryingnot to go to you,I bent down. Bent towards flowers blooming on the ground.Towards the shadow of flowers in hiding. Having folded,I failed to bloom. While my light was bent,while my day to day was bent,in a corridor once filled with light,nothing bloomed.Tenderly, I held out my…
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“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…
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“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…
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“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…
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“Structure of Chairs” by Lee Soo-Myeong
On top of one chair, two.On top of two chairs, three.On top of three chairs, four.On top of four chairs, five. On top of five chairs, nine.On top of nine chairs, twenty.On top of twenty chairs, fifty-one. A chair, on a chair, on a chairand more chairs still.More than can be counted. Each day we…
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“Cat Burglar” by Lee Soo-Myeong
The cat has been rummaging through the trash again. The bag is torn, lying in shreds here and there. There’s no use in covering or closing the garbage can. Bread, snacks, and raw fish placed in my shopping bag — all of them always disappear from my bag. I’m continually disappearing too because the cat…
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“In That House” by Lee Soo-Myeong
In that housea staircasedescendslike eyes. A staircaselike eyes shifting sideways.A staircase turned to grey hairlike eyes. My feet fill the airlike black sirens. In that housethere isa staircase meltinglike eyes. 그 집에는눈처럼떨어지고 있는계단들이 있다. 눈처럼수평으로 이동하는눈처럼 백발이 되어버린계단들이 있다. 검은 사이렌처럼허공을 내 발들로 채우고 그 집에는눈처럼녹고 있는계단들이 있다. “In That House” (그 집에는) originally appeared in Daum…