A time that belongs to nothing, to no one, seems to pass by
Like an old postman.
Thousands of first skies descend, slowly and long.
Hailing from Korea, the Land of Morning Calm, poet Byung Ho Kim graduated from the Department of Creative Writing at Chung-Ang University and earned his master’s degree from the same institution. He made his literary debut in 2003 after winning the New Year’s Literary Contest sponsored by the Munhwa Ilbo. His published poetry collections include ‘Walking inside the Moon’, Reading Yi Sang All Night, Backhand Volley, and Shoegazing. He is also the author of the critical works The Question Called Poetry and The Nuance of Landscape, among others.
Kim has received numerous literary honors, including the Young Poet Award from the Korean Poets’ Association, the Yun Dong-ju Young Writer Award, the Dongcheon Literary Award, the Poetry with Award, and the Jungsan Literary Award. He is currently Professor of Creative Writing at Hyupsung University, Secretary General of the Korean Poets’ Association, and Editor-in-Chief of the quarterly literary magazine The World Opened by Poetry.
Who Passes By
On a seesaw at one corner of the playground,
A six-year-old girl and a woman of seventy sit facing one another.
When, on tiptoe, someone hangs a light upon an old flowering tree,
The murmur of the evening river gathers in the western sky.
The hour when only young saplings remain, gathering in their shadows.
From the sky above seedless flower stalks, great flakes of snow descend,
And the seesaw becomes a rusted handle.
A time that belongs to nothing, to no one, seems to pass by
Like an old postman.
Thousands of first skies descend, slowly and long.
누가 다녀가는지
놀이터 한켠 시소에 여섯 살 여자아이와
일흔의 할머니가 마주앉아 있다
까치발로 늙은 꽃나무에 불을 매달면
저녁 강의 물소리가 서쪽 하늘에 고인다
어린 묘목들만 남아 그림자를 거두는 시간
씨 빠진 꽃대궁의 하늘에 함박눈이 쏟아지고
시소는 녹슨 손잡이가 된다
그 무엇도, 누구의 것도, 아닌 시간이
늙은 우편배달부처럼 다녀가는 모양이다
수천의 첫 하늘이 길게 내린다
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