As you climb upward,
I descend.
To the steady drumbeat of each advancing step,
I move down the steep ladder…
Ms. Kim Sun Young, a poet from Korea, the Land of Morning Calm, shares her poem
Poet Kim Sun-Young was born on May 17, 1938, in Kaesong, Gyeonggi Province. She graduated from Sudo Women’s Teachers College and later served as a teacher at Sudo Girls’ Middle School and as a professor at Sejong University. In 1962, she made her literary debut in Hyundae Munhak(Modern Literature) after her poems Bluebird, Echo, and Graffiti of the Seasons were recommended for publication. She was also an active member of the literary coterie Cheongmi. Since the publication of her first poetry collection, Saga, in 1969, she has published 15 poetry collections, including The Shoe Store of Emptiness (1972), Wildflower Ritual (1976), Atmosphere of Fantasy (1976), Words Written at Night (1982), God Who Lives in the Lilac Tree (1983), Song of Longing (1987), and To Shatter (2008). She has received numerous literary awards, including the Contemporary Poetry Award and the Korean Literature Award. She has also served as an advisory board member of the Korean Poets Association and the Korean Women Writers’ Association, as well as a member of the International PEN Korea Center.
Ivy
IvyAs you climb upward,
I descend.
To the steady drumbeat of each advancing step,
I move down the steep ladder.
To ascend
Is to descend.
No, to descend
Is to rise, unceasingly.
So even death
Climbs up from the depths of death
Climbing, climbing again,
Until it is reborn.
***
담쟁이덩굴
담쟁이덩굴네가 올라갈 때
나는 내려간다
한 발자국씩 전진하는 북소리에
나는 가파른 사다리를 내려간다
올라간다는 것은
내려간다는 것이다
아니 내려간다는 것이
끊임없이 올라간다는 것이다.
그러기에 죽음까지도
죽음의 밑바닥에서 올라가며
올라가며 다시
부활한다는 것이다.
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