featured-image

Cover of Son Young-hee's "Where Did All Heart Beats in the World Go," which includes "Bus Stop Sonata" / Courtesy of Siindongne Written by Son Young-hee Translated by Nam Jeong-geun and Nam Seo-jeong Bus Stop Sonata An old man rests on a bus stop seat, Though yellow pine pollen drifts into his mouth, And flies cling to his eyes' red rim, Though the village bus departs with a wheeze, Its black tears float upon the breeze, Yet on the wooden bench so stern, The old man's patience does not turn. Gobi Father, last night my horse succumbed to fate, Whether I let go or lost the reins, I can't state. The pouring sunlight's weight closed my eyes, As one step up, two steps slide, the climb defies.

Gray dunes, unable to topple time's decree, This place, a labyrinth prison, trapped by the horizon's spree. Chasing mirages through an age, only to crumble, Every path a cliff, every path a tumble. Father, last night my horse vanished in the gloom, Leaving me to ponder this endless, sandy doom.



When Petals Flutter When memories, named, surge forth and rise, And clumps of sorrow in the mouth dissolve and sigh, When someone breathes, invoking love's embrace, When the shadow of the paulownia beyond the fence, Bruises with laughter that crosses the stone wall, And in the heart, petals forever amassed, Rustle and flutter, never dry, In the chest, where flowers lie. Under the Moonlight A widow of the village, bereft of her husband too soon, prowls each night like a furtive cat. Oh, may the moonligh.

Back to Luxury Page