Lee, Hee Kuk, a poet from Korea, the Land of Morning Calm, shares his two poems

 Lee, Hee Kuk is a poet. Born in Seoul city of South Korea, he is Pharmacist and Adjunct Professor of College of Pharmacy, The Catholic University of Korea. He is a member of Executive of PEN Korean Center of PEN International. He published 5 poetry books and won 4 Literature awards.

Inside and Outside

Below freezing point

The mercury column has descended twenty steps, and the scenery outside the window is frozen.

Nervous people without facial expressions

To warm their frozen hearts,

Evening walking with hazy breath

The street trees cry when the wind whips them.

Even the rose tree, with its leaves and branches covered in white, has its bare skin cracked by ice cubes.

The wind whistling in the gray air

It raises its claws as if looking for food, but

The glass window that swallows the heat melts the ice.

One wall in this room

That wall is protecting me

The harsher the attack, the more the frost flower blooms.

When the north wind turns its back, the frost flowers will fall

I’m waiting for the time to melt

The scenery outside knocks on the glass window and turns around.

This cozy place,

And that place are too far away.

***

안과 밖

이희국

빙점 아래로

스무 계단 내려간 수은주, 창밖 풍경이 굳어있다

표정 없이 긴장한 사람들

언 마음을 데우려

뿌연 입김을 흘리며 걷는 저녁

바람의 채찍에 가로수는 울고 이파리와 가지까지

하얗게 덮인 장미나무도

얼음조각에 맨살이 트고 있다

회색 허공에서 윙윙대는 바람은

먹이를 찾는 듯 발톱을 세우지만

열기를 삼키며 녹아내린 유리창

이 벽 한 장이

나를 지켜주고 있다

공격이 거칠수록 활짝 핀 성에 꽃

저 북풍이 등을 보이면 꽃이 질 것이다

녹아내릴 시간을 기다리는데

밖에 서 있는 풍경이 유리창을 두드리다 돌아간다

아늑한 이곳과

저 곳은 너무 멀다.

***

Old speed

Waste tires in a corner of the park,

Wind flows in and out of the half-moon shaped body.

With traces of cracks here and there

That tire that was left here for the rest of its life

The tense speed of running down the road,

Carrying a heavy load has all disappeared.

How many kilometers per hour did it get here?

When it crosses the difficult mountain of youth

The wind that hit its whole body

Where is the wind wandering now?

There were no brakes in my life either.

6pm as the sun sets over the hills,

Now is the time to slow down

A man came limping through the fading sunlight,

Put down his staff,

He sits down after a tiring day.

***

낡은 속도

 이희국

공원 한 구석 폐타이어

반달의 몸속으로 바람이 드나든다

군데군데 갈라진 흔적을 안고

이곳에 여생을 내려놓은 저 타이어

무거운 짐을 지고 도로를 질주하던

팽팽한 속도는 다 빠져나갔다

몇 킬로미터의 속도로 이곳까지 왔을가

청춘의 험산을 넘을 때

온몸을 때리던 바람

지금은 어디를 떠돌고 있을까

나의 생에도 브레이크가 없었다

태양이 언덕을 넘어서는 오후 6시

이제는 속도를 늦추어야 할 나이

사위어가는 햇살 사이로 절뚝이며 다가온 사내

지팡이를 내려놓고

지친 하루를 깔고 앉는다.

__________________  

Read: Square Record Book – Poetry from Korea

The post Inside and Outside – Poetry from Korea first appeared on Sindh Courier.