An empty room with no one watching. A clear mind is trapped in the sky of obscurity.
Kim Won-Uk, an eminent poet from Korea, the Land of Morning Calm, shares his poem
Poet Kim Won-Uk was born in Wimi, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do. He began his poetic career with the literature magazine Yesulsegye in 1993. His works include the poetry collections ‘A Bird to the Land of Longing’, ‘Into the Sunset’, ‘Someone’s someone’, and ‘Blue Feet Are Gone’. He is currently the president of the Jeju branch of the International PEN Korea Center.
Empty room
It’s been a long time since I entered the old room.
The room stares blankly.
The window is fogged up, as if the unfamiliar owner is displeased.
The accumulated dust is shining brightly.
The silence that drifted in the forest of delusion on a dark day settles into my pupils.
Whatever the history, there was a time when affection was exchanged.
In the shade of pure white,
The day Grandma Samshin suddenly grabbed her rough hand,
A narrow room across the Gobi Desert from the transparent snowfields of Lake Baikal,
Buried in the smell of shepherds in the vast grassland,
Leaning against the window where the loose snow is carelessly falling,
What should I empty today? I was anxious.
An empty room with no one watching.
A clear mind is trapped in the sky of obscurity.
Beyond the window of immateriality,
I look inside myself, where my optic nerves are entangled like an Indra net.
There is only great silence,
A pure white moon lying all together.
***
빈방
김원욱
오랜만에 낡은 방에 들어섭니다
방이 멀뚱멀뚱 바라봅니다
낯선 주인이 못마땅한지 창을 뿌옇게 흐려놓습니다
켜켜이 쌓인 먼지가 번들거리고
까마득한 날 미혹의 숲에서 떠돌던 적막이 동공 속으로
턱 내려앉습니다
내력이야 어떻든 정을 주고받던 때가 있었습니다
순백의 그늘에서
삼신할머니가 덥석 거친 손을 잡던 날
투명한 바이칼호 설원을 떠나 고비사막 건너온 좁은 방
광활한 초원 목동 냄새에 묻히다가
성긴 눈발 무심히 흩날리는 창가에 기대어
오늘은 무엇을 비울까, 마음 졸이던
아무도 보는 이 없는 빈방
명징한 정신이 무명의 하늘에 갇혀 있는
색계(色界)의 창 너머
시신경이 인드라망처럼 얽혀 있는 내 안을 들여다봅니다
큰 적막뿐인,
순백의 달덩이 하나 덩그러니 놓여 있습니다
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