30) The Diving Bell and the Butterfly*
Wolran Kim
Even through this small port
I can see the paralyzed world clearly
Saliva flowing out of loose lips
was the final sap that I drank at sea
Two pairs of wings, have a wide heart
and shiny embroidery
I can hear now they cast off the skin
E, S, A, R, I, N, T, U, L*
Blink,
whenever heaven's alphabet sounds like testate
O, M, D, P, C, F, B, V*
Blink,
The butterfly shouldered a diving bell
H, G, J, Q, Z, Y, X, K, W*
Blink,
Flying away carrying on a huge prison
Even though tens of thousands of memories write
the music of loss while out through the iron bars
I'll shoot missiles mounted on me
Deep-sea floor is just a runway to fly
Now, I can say, I was a butterfly
A butterfly looking back and saying
It was not a big case at all
Just close the window of one eye secretly
Thou, once in a while
Build a tender prison where you trap free
Thou, today too
Be with thousands of butterflies
*The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: The 2007 film based on the French
memoir Le Scaphandre et le Papillon by
Jean-Dominique Bauby.
* The blink indicates that the speech therapist has reached the correct
letter.