Thus, the falling, gathering starlight
Washes away the darkness of desire,
Laying white gauze
Over every tender, countless sprout.
Mr. Yoon BongTaek, is a poet from South Korea
Poet Mr. Yoon Bong-Taek was born in Gangjeong Village, Seogwipo-si, in 1956. He earned a master’s degree in literature and a doctorate in cultural heritage from Chonnam National University Graduate School. In 1991, he received the Halla Ilbo New Year’s Literary Poetry Prize (Jeju Wind) and, in the same year, the Rookie of the Year Award from the April issue of Literary Movement (for the poem Windy Island and four other works). His published poetry collections include Farmers Have Longings Too, Where Are the Nameless Flowers, and Unfinished Stories. He has served as president of the Seogwipo Writers’ Association and as chairman of the Seogwipo City Cultural City Project Promotion Council. He is currently chairman of the Seogwipo Arts Council, chairman of the Tamna Cultural Heritage Preservation Society, director of the Seogwipo Buddhist Cultural Center, and chairman of the Promotion Committee for the Construction of the Seogwipo Literary Museum. He is also president of Jeju PEN, co-representative of “Seogwipo’s Citizens’ Group Thinking About the Future,” and a meditation practitioner at Ssanggye Hermitage of the Korean Buddhist Institute. In 2012, he received the Presidential Award for Korean Cultural Heritage.
Snowy Night
Stars dive down to earth.
When was that moment?
Through the cracked seams of stone,
Sometimes,
Onto leaves brushed by winter’s chill
Before turning to fallen foliage,
Or seeping into an extra knot of wood,
Breathing out the scent of trees.
Thus, the falling, gathering starlight
Washes away the darkness of desire,
Laying white gauze
Over every tender, countless sprout.
***
눈 내리는 밤
별들이 지상으로 숨비질＊한다.
그때가 언제였을까
금이 간 바위틈 새이로
더러는
낙엽이 되지 못하여 동해 입은 낭섶＊ 우로
또는
덧난 옹이로 스미며 침향으로 날리는
그렇게
나려 쌓이는 별빛은
물욕의 어둠을 씻고
수만의 아지마다 흰 깁을
내려 놓는다
*숨비질; ᄌᆞᆷ녜(해녀)가 바다에서 작업하는 행위
*낭섶; 나뭇잎의 제주어
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