Road of spring up – A Bouquet of Poems from Jeju Island of Korea

Yang Geum-Hee

Poetess Yang Geum-Hee, born in 1967 in Jeju, Korea, has published two collections of poetry books, “Happiness Account” and “Ieodo, Island of Legend and Existence”, as well as one collection of essays titled “Happy Companion”. She was the first president of the Ieodo Literature Association, the editor-in-chief of the Jejuin News, and worked as a research fellow at the Society of Ieodo Research. She served as a researcher at the Jeju Sea Grand Center at Jeju National University and a specially appointed professor at Jeju International University. Currently, she is editorial writer for the New Jeju Ilbo, special researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences of Jeju National University, vice-president of the Jeju Regional Committee of the Korean PEN Center, Executive of the Jeju Institute for Korean Unification, and Executive of the Korean Association of Ethics. She has won four literary awards.

Road of spring up

I always thought the word ‘spring up’ was a language of life

Before the sprouts grow and flowers bloom,

I thought there was a usage restriction manual

 

I thought the mountain doves pecking at dry grass blades

We’re opening up the path for ‘spring up’,

And that the warm sunlight beckoned by the river

Was melting the cold earth.

 

Using the entry pass to slip through the cracks of time,

I learned that there was movement

Toward a person who cannot be seen right now.

 

I now understand that this yearning erases anxiety

And that loneliness open up narrow space

For new growth, like a heartbeat.

 

All of these intense things come together

To nourish the softest parts of us and open the door to life.

In the moment when the flowers bloom,

The movement becomes beauty.

 

I learned at 50 that life can only continue and that they can be connected,

When emotions burst forth from each other’s hearts,

***

움트는 길

움튼다’는 말은

생명의 언어인 줄만 알았어요

새싹이 돋아나고 꽃이 피기 전

사용제한설명서가 있는 줄 알았어요

 

마른 풀잎을 들추는 산비둘기가

움트는 길을 열어주는 줄 알았고

따뜻한 햇살을 불러온 강물이

차가운 대지를 녹이는 줄 알았어요

 

시간의 틈새로 들어가는 출입증으로

비밀의 문을 열고

지금은 볼 수 없는 한 사람을 향한

그리,움이 있었다는 걸 알게 되었어요

 

그리,움이 번뇌를 지우는 그림이고

외로,움이 다시 싹이 나게 하는 틈을

열어주는 맥박이란 걸

이제야 알게 되었어요

 

그 절실한 것들이 한데 모여

무른 속살을 먹여 생명의 문을 열고

꽃을 피우는 순간

아름다,움이 된다는 것을

이제야 알게 되었어요

 

서로의 가슴에서 움이 터야

생명이 이어질 수 있다는 걸

지천명의 언덕에 올라 처음 알았어요

***

House

I have nothing to distance myself from you, it feels so good

When I lean on you, you silently offer me your shoulder

When the dam of sorrow bursts,

You offer me your warm back, it feels so good

 

You patiently endure the time of waiting

You don’t rush me, you wait for me

 

On sleepless nights, you come into the darkness

And quietly watch my expression

Then you cover me with a blanket and leave

 

You bring out old memories and let them flow as emotions

You release warm breathes into the courtyard

You tend to the pure morning as the Divine Crystal

You nurture the fire energy in the Divine Tripod

 

It feels so good to have something like you

It feels like I’m still alive because of I am like you

***

집

너에게 거리낄 게 없어 참 좋아

기대면 말없이 어깨를 내어주고

슬픔의 물꼬가 터질 땐

따뜻한 등을 내주는 네가 참 좋아

 

인내의 시간을 묵묵히 견뎌주고

재촉하지 않고 기다려주는,

 

불면의 밤이면 어둠 속으로 들어와

가만히 내 표정을 들여다보다가

살며시 이불을 덮어주고 나가는,

 

오래된 기억을 꺼내 ‘정情’이 되어 흐르게 하고

따뜻한 숨결들을 꺼내 ‘정庭’원에 풀어놓으며 

순결한 새벽을 풀어 ‘정晶’신을 가다듬고

불의 기운을 담아 ‘정鼎’으로 익어가는

 

그런 네가 있어 참 좋아

그런 내가 있어 나는 아직 살 만해

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