Poems by Korean poet Mr. Bak, Yong Ha

Επιμέλεια: Εύα Πετροπούλου Λιανού

Korean poet Mr. Bak, Yong Ha was born in Gangneung, Gangwon-do, Korea in 1963. He began his literary career by winning the Literature JoongAng New Writer’s Award in 1989. He is the author of the poetry collections Trees Burning Like a Waterfall (enhanced and republished as Six Apocalypses for 26 Years Old), The Thirty-Third Road to the Sea, North of the Soul, Kyeonja, A Man, In this intense finiteness, Evening Mindset and a poetry collection Beauty from Here.

Sea coast

A body washes up in the waves
A body floats down the river.

It didn’t happen in my town.
It happened in the country where I live and outside the country.
It’s happening and it’s going to happen.

The waves move forward, pushing and pushing the waves.
The waves are pushed and pushed by the waves
Finally, with a big sigh, as if dismantling the lungs,
They fall to the white sand.
On the coastal cliffs not far from there, waves break heads into pieces.
They join the sea again

Even if the waves break and break, they are still waves
Still, the sea is a sea of equanimity

Outside the country I live in
A body beyond imagination
Floating and being washed away

Is it any different because of the country I live in?

The world is connected by waves of death

해안

파도에 시체가 떠밀려온다
강물에 시체가 떠내려온다

내가 사는 마을에서 일어난 일이 아니다
내가 사는 나라와 나라 밖에서 일어난 일이고
일어나고 있는 일이며 일어날 일이다

파도는 파도를 밀고 밀며 나아가고
파도는 파도에 밀리고 밀리면서
마침내 크게 한숨을 몰아쉬며 폐부를 해체하듯
백사장으로 쓰러진다
거기서 멀지 않은 해안 절벽으로 파도는 대가리를 산산조각내고
다시 바다에 합류한다

파도는 부서지고 깨져도 파도고
그러거나 말거나 바다는 평정의 바다고

내가 사는 나라 밖에서는
상상 이상의 시체가
떠내려가고 떠밀려온다

내가 사는 나라라고 별다를까

세계가 죽음의 파도로 연결돼 있다

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