POEM BY KIM WON-UK (SOUTH KOREA)

POEM BY KIM WON-UK (SOUTH KOREA)

Poet Mr. Kim Won-Wook was born in Wimi, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do. He began his poet career with the literature magazine "Yesulsegy" in 1993. His works include the poetry collections: "A Bird to the Land of Longing", "Into the Sunset", "Someone's Someone" and "Blue Feet Are Gone". He is currently the president of the Jeju branch of the International PEN Korea Center.

EMPTY ROOM

It's been a long time since I entered the old room.

The room stares blankly.

The window is fogged up, as if the unfamiliar owner is displeased.

The accumulated dust is shining brightly.

The silence that drifted in the forest of delusion on a dark day settles into my pupils.

Whatever the history, there was a time when affection was exchanged.

In the shade of pure white,

The day Grandma Samshin suddenly grabbed her rough hand,

A narrow room across the Gobi Desert from the transparent snowfields of Lake Baikal,

Buried in the smell of shepherds in the vast grassland,

Leaning against the window where the loose snow is carelessly falling,

What should I empty today? I was anxious.

An empty room with no one watching.

A clear mind is trapped in the sky of obscurity.

Beyond the window of immateriality,

I look inside myself, where my optic nerves are entangled like an Indra net.

There is only great silence,

A pure white moon lying all together.