Cold moonlight wrapped
The black body abandoned, unable to rise.
From that day on,
I called my body the Temple of the Wind.
Ms. Park Soon is an eminent poetess of Korea
Poet Park Soon, born in 1970 in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, South Korea, graduated from the Department of Korean Language and Literature at Korea National Open University. She made her literary debut in 2015 after winning the New Writers’ Literary Award from Siin Jeongsin (Poet’s Spirit). Her honors include the Siin Jeongsin Excellent Work Award, the Grand Prize at the 2nd Seoul Citizens’ Literary Award, the 5th Hayu Literary Award, the Grand Prize in the Poetry Category of the Asia-Pacific Arts and Literature Awards, and the Korean Environmental Literature Grand Prize. She has served as a Planning Committee Member for the literary magazine Munhakcheongchun, an Editorial Board Member of Hanmaek Literature, a Director of the Nowon Writers’ Association, Vice President of the Asia-Pacific Federation of Culture and Arts, Executive of Culture & People Newspaper, Secretary-General of Korean Literature Love Newspaper, Culture Desk Reporter for National Integrity Newspaper, a member of the Seoul Citizens’ Literary Award Committee, Standing Executive of the Dante Writers’ Association, Director of Public Relations for the Petra Korea Poetry & Music Association, and an instructor of creative writing at the Seoul Municipal Cerebral Palsy Welfare Center. Her poetry collections include Fade in and Temple of the Wind.
Temple of the Wind
Temple of the WindI did not know where I was going.
As I took the bent road, my body curved with it,
And where footprints trampled through,
The blood of flowers, grass, and birds flowed.
When the wind churned against my flank,
I could not hear the sound of stones cracking within,
Many days I rolled about inside the ribs of the wind.
When the wind spurred my side and lashed me like a whip,
I had no choice but to run faster than the wind itself.
Those times when I drove myself on
By sheer instinct to charge forward—
The pain in my side long since forgotten.
Cold moonlight wrapped
The black body abandoned, unable to rise.
From that day on,
I called my body the Temple of the Wind.
***
바람의 사원
어디로 가고 있는지 나는 몰랐다
구부러진 길을 갈 때 몸은 휘어졌고
발자국이 짓밟고 지나간 자리에는
꽃과 풀과 새의 피가 흘렀다
바람이 옆구리를 휘젓고 가면
돌멩이 속 갈라지는 소리를 듣지 못했고
바람의 늑골 속에서 뒹구는 날이 많았다
바람이 옆구리에 박차를 가하고 채찍질을 하면
바람보다 더 빨리 달릴 수밖에 없었다
질주본능으로 스스로 박차를 가했던 시간들
옆구리의 통증은 잊은 지 오래
일어나지 못하고 버려졌던
검은 몸뚱이를 감싼 싸늘한 달빛
그날 이후
내 몸을 바람의 사원이라 불렀다
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