I am being guided by that silent river.
Song, Kyeongdong, an award-winner poet from Korea, the land of Morning Calm, shares his poem
Mr. Song Kyeongdong is actively engaged as Korea’s representative socially engaged poet. He writes poems filled with solidarity, comfort, and love for ordinary people who live affirming lives without being frustrated, even in this sad century where they endure discrimination, inequality of opportunity, poverty, and deprivation. So far, he has received awards such as Wildfire Award, Cheon Sang-byeong Literary Award, Shin Dong-yup Literary Award, Gosan Literature Award, and Lee Ho-cheol Unification Literature Award. His poetry collections include Good Sleep, Answering Trivial Questions, I am not Korean, and I fell asleep sounding like I was dreaming. His prose collection is Dreamer, Caught.
Answering Trivial Questions
One day,
A self-proclaimed Marxist
Came to me asking if I would join him in forming a new organization.
At the end of the conversation, he asked,
“By the way, what university did Comrade Song graduate from?” smiling.
I told him that I was a high school graduate, a former juvenile detainee, and a former worker.
Above his passionate eyes for a moment,
I saw a cold, fishy membrane hanging down.
He said in a panic,
“Please consider it an honor to be a part of the Fatherland Liberation Front.”
Sorry, I didn’t share the glory.
These days, ten years have passed.
Another type of people keep coming back,
Asking which organization I belong to.
I answer again honestly,
“I am a member of that field.”
I’m being pushed by the sea waves,
Every day I shake in front of those flower petals.
I am colored by this green tree.
I’m being swayed by that wind,
The collapsed walls of those who have nothing,
Kicking down a seat and a shoe with its head cut off,
Not yet born, crawling like an amoeba.
I belong in the words of all the lowly people.
I answer, even after engraving countless ripples within myself,
“I am being guided by that silent river.”
***
사소한 물음들에 답함
송경동
어느 날
한 자칭 맑스주의자가
새로운 조직 결성에 함께하지 않겠느냐고 찾아왔다
얘기 끝에 그가 물었다
그런데 송동지는 어느 대학 출신이오? 웃으며
나는 고졸이며, 소년원 출신에
노동자 출신이라고 이야기해주었다
순간 열정적이던 그의 두 눈동자 위로
싸늘하고 비릿한 막 하나가 쳐지는 것을 보았다
허둥대며 그가 말했다
조국해방전선에 함께 하게 된 것을
영광으로 생각하라고
미안하지만 난 그 영광과 함께하지 않았다
십수년이 지난 요즈음
다시 또 한 부류의 사람들이 자꾸
어느 조직에 가입되어 있느냐고 묻는다
나는 다시 숨김없이 대답한다
나는 저 들에 가입되어 있다고
저 바다물결에 밀리고 있고
저 꽃잎 앞에서 날마다 흔들리고
이 푸르른 나무에 물들어 있으며
저 바람에 선동당하고 있다고
가진 것 없는 이들의 무너진 담벼락
걷어차인 좌판과 목 잘린 구두,
아직 태어나지 못해 아메바처럼 기고 있는
비천한 모든 이들의 말 속에 소속되어 있다고
대답한다 수많은 파문을 자신 안에 새기고도
말없는 저 강물에게 지도받고 있다고
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