You said:
Say something
Talk of your language
Speak
I said:
How can I?
My language has no sound
Listen
Tag Archives: poem
Cinquain/VII
soft light
licks my backbone
then darts into the night
on the copse edge I stand alone
unknown
6.25
salt eyebrows rise with thoughts of brothers
long lost to fortune’s muggy hand,
which severed north and south till
plain passageways perished
in time’s covenant;
how wonderful
it would be
to see
you
——————-
Today marks the 64th Anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War.
red summer nights
dainty green shells shine
under a brilliant white star
red summer nights sing
Summer Rain
Summer rain
Arrives like a gentle evening kiss.
Wrapping salty arms around you,
She nestles into your bones,
Dances carelessly with the wind
Then waltzes off into the dawn.
…on the sidelines…
You can’t speak high Korean with me,
I can’t speak high English with you,
and clearly I can’t speak German,
neither hoch nor nieder.
And so, with a lump in my throat I sulk,
bitterly sipping on this sweet potato
latte while Your Excellencies engage
in dieses Gespräch.
Cinquain/X
this dust
is an offense
which manifestly must
be uprooted with an intense
defense
——————————-
My maternal grandmother was a skilled miniaturist who painstakingly created a beautiful collection of small fascinating rooms. This short poem was inspired by her “Victorian Parlour.”
…a final parting…
An indolent orange spirit drifts across
the mountainside as the day draws to a close.
Pulling a leaden cloak over the forested canvas,
she offers no quarter to my flagging frame.
I stretch a cautious limb in front of me,
searching for a secure footing while sap soaked
leaves protest under an inquisitive tread.
A half a dozen steps ahead, your raven
tresses swing to and fro, occasionally
meeting the soft light that sinks in the west.
I stop my ascent for a crack to watch your
slender span navigate the shadows.
You will soon round the binding bend and
then I shall never see you again.
TIME – please be merciful with my memories.
Absolve them of their debts.
I beg of you.
At The Buffet
She flicks that golden braid over her shoulder
onto a rhinestone studded collared jean jacket
as she sings her soul out under hot teal lights.
The greens and pinks of her floral skirt swirl
around dimpled knees while both hands raise
above heads to clap us into submission.
She’s a robot.
She’s a swallow.
She’s a Canens at battle with the night.
She can be anything she wants to be.
She’s got all her love to give.
She WILL survive.
나가는 문이 없는 방/Room With No Exit
나는 나가는 문이 없는 방에 갇혀 있다
모든 것이 나오지만 아무것도 나갈 수 없다
결국 지친 내 몸은 살살 열리고 잠들게 된다
I am trapped in a room with no exit.
Everything comes in but nothing goes out.
At last my weary body gently opens and sleep comes.
*Korean translation edited for clarity by Seok Jin Wook
sundry folly 