The River
강


You
Being left there by the River

I
Want to cross that river





The Two of Us
둘이서


In a distance where we can look at one another
The line of love is being placed
Within that line the light and shadows reflect
The two holding going on a journey
As the sun is setting down and the moon rise......


A Buttonhole
단추구멍
  
A hole in the dress,
A buttonhole.
Will tear if it is big,
Or be loose if small.
It certainly makes sense.



In Front of the Door
      문 앞에서


I am here right now.

All covered with street dust,
I have come back
and am right here.

As your waiting shadow
was seen at the window,
I had to hurry up.

With the sorrow raised
in a long wanderer’s journey
mixed in tears, I am back.

Following the light
you have not turned off yet
in a far, far dark corner,

I am now back here.




Song of Dot
점의노래


Nobody knows
that I am a black dot.
Nobody knows bullet of sorrow
which keeps protecting me
in a place of life.

A dot happens to meet another one
and often parts it, but inside me
the other dot has struck deep; its song
floats over the moonlit windows,
and yet nobody listens to it.

As day and night make up one day,
my dot is put on the other only to be
a meteor; it moves around the sky,
but nobody sees it.

Suppose someone looks into carefully
at the two black dots side by side
in an evening when my life ends,
whose tears would he find filled in?  
Nobody, nobody knows it yet.




Mother’s Heritage
   어머님 유산

Mother!
Whether repeated silently,
or shouted out to the utmost,  
you are the sea always coming to us.

Your garment was so large and roomy
that it became a curtain for your children,
protecting them from the severe heat and cold;
it raised us to be who we are today.

Your prayer we heard at midnight
brought us dreams brightening our heart.
The brilliance of your eyes, wet hands caressing us,
filled our soul with love, which has turned to ours.

Now I as a mother call you Mother; you still
lead me by the hand, tapping me on the shoulder.  
You stay within myself as the power that encourages
me to accompany you on the fearless road.




Transplanting a Tree
For Our Dear Daughter’s Wedding
나무 한 그루 옮겨 심으며
-사랑하는 딸 결혼에 부쳐-


In the clear morning, I transplant a tree from the yard to a forest.  
I am writing a letter with dew drops in selected, treasured words,
wiping my hands with an apron, the deep mind concentrated.
As a river cannot fill the sea even if it reached there, so is my thought.
Long accumulated times form dew in the eye, drop by drop.
It feels like yesterday when I innocently sown seed; yet it has been
twenty-eight years for its budding and growing in all seasons.
It grew with branches and flowers to be a pride and joy of the garden;
it endured the scorching summer and severe cold winter every year.  
When the tree stands in the forest, it may get weary, but I move it
with a joyful heart.  I know how all other trees were like, for I believe
in the big hands that raised them, blocking the storm, covering the frost.  
The hands convince me of their protection, flowering, and fruitfulness.  
I can see two trees standing side by side on one hill, blooming fruitfully.
As singing flowers bloom and the sound of bells ring,
I pray for plentiful bearing of fruits.
Let us all stand as majestic trees every time in the eyes of love.




Man And Wife, 1
    부부



In this world the most thing between a man and wife
Is when they love and respect one another’s character.

In this world the most beautiful thing between a man and wife
Is when they encourage each other and protect one another’s faults.

In this world the most happiest, married couple
Is the one gaining grace from God.

In this world the most blessed, married couple
Is the joyful one who serves and waits upon the Lord Jehovah.

In this world the family that receives the most goodness
Is the prosperous pair who always hears the Hallelujah praises.



A Baby Born In The Winter
  겨울에 태어난 아이


You have come with the snow.
You who have come with the ice, and
You who have come with the cold and bitter wind,
Are pure as a crystal of the snow,
Clean as a crystalline lens of the ice and
Beautiful as the snow-flowers.

Like a clam’s mouth shut tightly,
It hides the softness in the hard shell
And keeps the secret of ancient times.

Like the snowflakes flown by the clouds,
Like the stratus flown by the winds,
Like the morning sunlights flown by the daybreak,
Unable to touch them all by my short hands,
Unable to embrace wholly in my narrow bosom,
You are unimaginable with my shallow thought.

These are the spring days for the sweet love,
The summer for the passionate love and
The fall for the beautiful love,
I wish to show what they are.


The Sun
태양


Awakening the darkness,
The bright sunlight rises from the other side.
You are rising through the sleepless night
And I have hurried to stand on the hill
To welcome you.
You, my dear, were approaching here to my side
Where my mind wished to stay with.
As you looked as if staying nearby,
I have rushed there, but you were in the far distance
for me to fold into my bosom.

When I was recalling the fascinated moments of the encounter with you,
As if you have read my mind,
You sat astride on the sunset hill
Yet, quietly you disappeared beyond the hill,
Where my thought wishes to put up at.

Where my mind wishes to stay,
Where my mature love may go,
Where my mind may bloom,
But, maybe, it’s too far away!

I, however, am longing for your rising again.
Because of you, my soul grows rich,
I remain like this way
In the comfortable love used to be so,
For I can place my mind in you,
I am here and
Calming down myself for the sleepless night.



The Summer Resort
피서지에서 생긴일


To ease and rest the weary body and soul
By the desperate struggle of life,
Crying and laughing,
I have started for the summer resort.
Looking over the horizon far away,
Spreading the wings of imagination,
I indulge in search of a link to the Universe.
Climbing up along the zigzagging trail of the steep mountain slope,
I am to grab at the height of happiness by hand.

Leaving the rock behind, stood upright veiling the morning sunlights,
I have started for another resort again
To seek after the Utopia,
For which I failed in finding it here
Till last night.

Crossing the mountains,
Across the sea,
It is said, there is Utopia I’ve lost.
I fly my mind over the place hidden in the veil of dreams.
Meeting those men disguised in hypocrisy,
Men under the cloak of honor, men on the money mattress,
Men tormented by the virtual image and self-righteousness
Wearing clothes of righteousness,
I look for a man who leads to the truth and life.

Gazing at the fallen leaves rolling over,
I let my sadness fly with them.
Everything is in vain.
A real resort is placed at where God is together with.




Reality of Life
삶의 현실

There are talks of the numberless stories occupied in my deep heart.
They are rampantly flying all over in the air and back to me.
So I would rather close my mouth tightly.

In the beautiful and magnificent creation of God,
How I should like to see them all.
Amongst those things
I wish to see the most
Is forbidden,
I would rather close my eyes tightly.

Out of the expensive jewelry and the fragrant flowers,
I sure wish to have many of them,
But, amongst them all,
What I wish to have the most
Is forbidden.
I would rather close the gate of my mind tightly.




My Lord
나의 주님


The night sky was unusually studded with numberless glittering stars.
My steps stopped amongst planets,
I came along the meandering way of life
How so vividly it was!
Unknowingly, I kneeled down.

A light smile spread on my bloodshot eyes,
It is not dew, but the teardrop at the edge of the nose.

What is the matter with me?
I hardly read my mind,
For all I know,
The waves ripple only at the sea,
But they ripple in my heart too.

No signs of those established fatalism,
Inevitable necessitarianism and
Born fortunism
Are seen at all in the sight of those waves.

Unknowingly, they are on the wing,
The eyeballs of the bright pigeon flying in the blue sky,
I feel as if my heart would break,
Yet, I feel joyful.

Quovadis!  Who are you?
In the fine voice, which is not a response,
It looks faintly and becomes lights,
Then, very rejoice it is,
O My Lord!
Truly You hold me in your arms.




Man And Wife, 2
   부부


We are forever partners,
Overcoming all hardships
In the adversity.
From day to day,
We devote ourselves to the present life,
For the tomorrow’s aim,
We shall realize our dreams and wishes
With the blessings and the grace of God.
Even though we are to have white looks,
As if roots of leek,
We are always man and wife.

Our conjugal love shall be united
To create something out of nothing,
And bear good fruits and fruitions,
Let’s have a rich harvest.

Our love becomes grains of wheat
And pass on to our posterity.
Again, those grains of love would produce plenty of fruits,
Let’s be an eternal symbol
Without hatred and envy or detestation and jealousy.

We are the family
Worshipping Jehovah God.
Cast away all worries of life
And accompanied by God,
Let’s achieve God’s will.
Eventually, we shall live
In the beautiful Paradise forever.




Autumn
가을  

On the lacquer dining table
Sits a red-ripe persimmon in the glass bowl
Where the cloud soaks itself before flying away

A red, red dragonfly
Vanishes into thin air
Way up high to the end of the sky

Coming from the woods
The Wind takes his clothes off
And descends.




At The Prayer House
기도원에서

On my knees
In the corner of the room

I sow my prayer
In sweat and tears

Whose drops are falling like rain  
On the dry land

They become a brook
On the other side of the field

Thanks to the bustle of reaping fruits

I glow all over
And get wet




Tulips
튜립

Lying on their stomachs
They reach out their hands
Full of spring
With their open hands
Skies are filled with fragrance
Incredibly amazing!
On the hills in the mountain
At the riverside
Their hands are mixing all spring ingredients  



Deluge
홍수


Rain is falling and falling on the long-dried desert
Its torrent covers all the fields
Flooding, destroying and sweeping
Meanwhile a path is still opening up
Where is your strength coming from?
You turn into a river, and then into an ocean
Your power locks them under the water
Oh, Wind!  Oh, Wind!  
How great is the swallowing power of waters
In the image of yellow earth!




When You Feel This Way
   너 이럴 때면


When you feel heart-broken, look up to the sky
There you’ll find your peace

When you feel lonely, again look forward to the sky
Then your comfort comes

When you feel sad, cry out to the sky
There you’ll meet Him, with His arms wide open, to hold you

When you feel happy, do not forget
That He, the Protector, is with you




Someday in the Future Year
어느 해 어느 땐가


Some day
We will probably have to go our separate ways
Even then you will never see my sorrow and tears

That’s because I know
I’ll leave behind the Love that I’ve always cherished
Though I take with me even sufferings and hatred all around  

The pains that the trips and falls in this world caused me
Will turn into the clouds and cover the crescent moon
Before they permeate the night filled with darkness

I’ll have to leave behind the things that I couldn’t and didn’t do
That tender regretful sentiment of mine in turn
Will become the Love to the people I am leaving




Hidden Tears
가려진 눈물


Where do the shooting stars settle down?
Tonight, watching them fleet overwhelms me with desolate feelings
With the universe asleep, the solitude of the Milky Way’s waves overtakes me
I look back the up-down and winding roads I have taken so far
The infinite silence surrounds and surrounds the night many times over
Tonight, all the agony and sorrow is buried in that silence
I see my earlier days with boiling ambition and aspiring dreams
in panoramic images
Tears are drawn like the pearls conceived through pain
The tears grow to be a sea and bury my soul under the horizon that touches the end of the sky
And I wish I were a white seagull that could fly over the sea of tears
I dream of the feast of Your love as you showed to the woman of Sychar
How I wish you would come up to the window and dry my tears
May You save this body from flying like shooting stars!




Self-portrait
자화상


The heavenward eyes move to tears
The heart is still waiting though exhausted by the yearning

Beyond the horizon that touches the sky
This body of mine is waiting and waiting all by myself
And feels worn out and look for the hill to lean on and rest in

Am I going to I fly to the sky as the birds are?
Shall I seek him who built a nest in the faraway place?

The stars are shining when the night is already deep
The eyes are following the movements of the shooting stars
And I feel free as long as my eyes are heavenward

I look up to the night sky absent-minded  
There is a lost bird that cannot finding her way
Wandering in an empty sky, not knowing where to go



Maybe Over There
아마 거기에

Is there really my star in the sky?
The light of a star reflect dimly off the window in the dark night
Waiting to be named, raising its hands, saying “Me!  Me!”
The darker the night gets, the deeper it penetrates
It brightens my darkened heart
One star among the myriad stars
Becomes my star, gives light to the window and
Warms the lightened room
My heart grows up as the flowers bloom  
You lead with Your invisible hand
I know you are over there
A day begins and a day ends
Meantime I hear the waters flow and winds fly
Maybe You are also over there in between
My heart yearns for you in the dimmest starlight



Missing Mother
어머니를 그리며


You used to carry with you wherever you went
The most treasured gem on earth
You used to worry “what if my hands fail and lose it?”
Now those hands of yours come to me as yearnings and chain me
Your hands were always wet
From a dishcloth or a towel
Your sweat and tears were melted in the apron
That was filled with love
You used to call my name in a pleasant voice
Where are you calling me now?
Mother’s voice is still ringing in my ears




One Drop of Water
물방울 하나

You come and break
You go away and come back
Your bubbles ride the waves
The bubbles group together to be a drop of water
And you go to the sea

As if swallowed up from the sea
You become a cloud
Your drops fall during rain
You become a river, an ocean
Again you go and again you come back
Each and every drop of water flows and
Bears fruits of faith, hope and love




Sea
바다


Sleeping sea?
I didn’t even see the nodding sea

You say the sea would sleep at night
The sea at night moves more restlessly

You say the sea is bound to rest at times
But, no, no!  The sea must stand by and wait

It neither sleeps nor nods
Because it is destined to hold and cherish while awake

The drains lead to streams, streams to rivers, rivers to a sea
The sea leads to something greater that embrace them all




Travelers of Love
사랑 나그네

You are a traveler
I am a traveler
We are the travelers of love
Our only link is love
We walk across the rough field
Only to find In front of us
The boundless ocean
But there is a path there
Only two together can take
So we go hand in hand against the sandstorms
Through the mountains and fields
We face the steep drop-offs
But there is a way far away
Only two together can cross
We continue to move on, leaning on each other
Now and then on our way we see sudden tears from each other
We will make a path
Only we two together can make
We happened to meet each other in this world
We are the travelers of love
Our only link is love
You are a traveler
I am a traveler




Longing Turned to Fear
두려움이 되는 그리움

I used to say hello to each day and let it go mindlessly
Now I see lonesomeness in the morning
When the sky is high and birds sing a beautiful song
And I see fear coming to me
In the clear starry night

The weather had nothing to do with it before
But why do I even fear what would happen
On the rainy day or on the snowy night?

Time used to blaze by
But now it is waiting

That reminds me of Roosevelt who said
“There is nothing to fear but fear itself.”

However, but for the fear, how empty a life would be!
My excited heart is waiting with fear
I continue on to tomorrow and the day after that





A Valentine
발렌타인

This day, my love for you is like a fountain
I wish to show
My heartfelt love and respect

I wish to send
The basket full of light
My loving eyes for you created
In the dark, cold confusion

To you
Who enlightened me on faith and love
And even planted love in me




My Pains Grew into Prayers
- Thinking of the pastor’s wife who overcame cancer
아픔이 기도되어
-암을 이기신 사모님을 생각하며


That day when I met you
My pains turned to prayers

I did not even know how wide the ocean was
When I stood right in front of it

I did not even know how high the mountain was
When I kept on walking toward it

The whirlwind hit me out of the blue
On my fearless journey

The ocean stirred up the rough wind and waves
The mountain set off the barrier  
Both the ocean and the mountain blocked my path

A little bird flies
Freely in the sky

A nameless flower
Blooms on the street  

Now I understand
They are so priceless

Lord, I know that you will listen to my pains
As my prayers and pour me with your grace

Please guide me to worship and adore you
As a little bird, as a wild flower






The Bird, the Cloud, the Wind and the Star
새, 구름, 바람 그리고 별


Sometimes I want to be a bird
So I may wake you up
With my song I sing for you on the tree in the early morning

Sometimes I want to be a cloud
So I may float in the blue sky
And look all the way down through the window

Sometimes I want to be wind
So I may invisibly enter the room and
Fill it with warm breeze

Sometimes I want to be a star
So I may watch ad protect you in your sleep with my bright light
How I wish I could be




The Heart of a Woman
여심

Lord, empty me
Empty me of everything inside of me
Empty me of even innate instincts
Empty me of my heart
So I turn around and face it

Lord, fill me
Fill me with the dewdrops gathered overnight
Flood my empty heart with the river of love
That I carry with me

Lord, give me strength to love
Let me be the sweet rain
Falling on the dry land sown with seeds
Let them grow, let them blossom
Let their fragrance fill the heavens
Let the river of love flow
Let the ocean of love flow




The First Snow of the Year Falls on My Heart
가슴에 쌓이는 첫눈



The flesh of the red-ripe persimmon in my mouth
Takes me back to the night and the taste
And I draw on the white paper
The face that wrote its name on my heart
I hear a sound of opening the unlocked gate
I open the window to see who it is
I see the shadow of a chilly fresh gale
Fluttering outside like a dream
My heart is all the more chilled
In the presence of the autumn frost
That has come right before winter
That freezes both wind and river
The first snow of the year that fell silently overnight
Falls quietly on my heart





Getting out of Ennui
권태를 벗으려


In the stillness of a mid-summer day
I imprison myself in an empty room
I try to create the wind
In this room where wind cannot reach
The heat is climbing up on the windows
The breathlessness that led to a coma some other day
Slants the ceiling
Then the sound of a shower wipes off my sweat
No bird comes and sits on the dry branch
I turn my head and find that
The tropical fish in the tank have sunk to the bottom
I greet the wind
Coming out of red-edged pages wrapped in a black cover




Dreamy Trail
꿈길


Trudging along the lonely mountain trail alone
I stop to look up high in the sky
I see the beloved faces floating on the clouds

I hear His voice in the blowing wind, in the flowing waters
He calls my name so dearly and protects me
And makes me light-footed on this lonely, rough trail

Life is a lonely, rugged terrain
But when I walk with the shadow of the dream
I will reach the green pasture, the resting place  

Life is short but yearning is forever
The yearning that makes me seek is the light of my life
Those yearnings within me follow the clouds again today






On a Day like This
이런 날



On the day
When the birds’ fluttering chases away the darkness and opens up a morning
I would love to take a walk with you early in the morning
And thread with dewdrops

No one but you and me is on this path
Where we meet the wind sifted by the woods
Your gazing at me fills my heart with fullness
This is the morning where we find dews and winds

I wish I were light
So I could fly over a mountain, cover the sea and
Cause a mountain to soar
I wish my heart is the light
So I could hold you there, always together




Doing Without All Worldly Things
세상 것 다 없어도


Should all the stars in the sky go away
And I see nothing in the sky
I would still live with a star in my heart

That star would rise at dusk
And light my path as a guiding star
I would just follow through on the journey in this world

I would win over the world with the caring heart
That embraces the mind willing but unable
To hang even a small pearl necklace around my neck

I spread the seeds over there
And hoping for the budding and blooming season to produce fresh fruits
I give up on all worldly desires





Again in May
다시 오월에


I can see May
Whose green-colored branches peep over the fence
She was buried underground last autumn, hibernating as colorless as earth
Now I can see May
Who has washed herself clean in the white snow
The fragrance of the green tea at the breakfast table
Fills the whole house
The birds, whose voices penetrating the windows,
Came here by riding the sunlight
The earth is very tired on the day it uplifts the flowers
I wear the apron around me
And sit down on the lawn and opens a poem book
I pick up Mother’s letter from between the leaves and read it aloud








Flower Market
꽃 시장


Up hill and down dale
You grew up without a name
With your friends, wind, heavens and clouds
That day you were named

You became a story, you became a legend
You did pretty well to hide from the gloomy winter
Starting to sprout, your beauty jerks tears

The rain fog of those times
The moon with its shades up to the head
The pains of cutting and breaking
You couldn’t even cry out loud

Your whole body tried to give out colors
Now you lack in your coloring under fluorescent lights
You can’t even say goodbye to your fellow flowers
You are just scattered in all directions
You, flowers, flowers, flowers!



A Journey Not Yet Finished
끝나지 않은 길


I am on the road everyday.  On the road,
I rest and sleep.  On the rugged road, I
used to count on the helping hands of
my mother and close my eyes in the dark
pass.  Every step of the way, I step on
such emotions as joy, anger, sorrow and
pleasure. I continue on the mountain trail,
seaway and heaven’s path again today.
While excited on my way to heaven,
I struggled alone on the cliffy trail,
and at the seaway I was drifting about
at the mercy of wind and waves.  On the
hilly road covered in flowers I put my heart
on the ground. Then I continue on the
sunny road, craving for the cool shades.
While I was waiting and waiting for the night,
I came across a road where the leaves are
falling. I was awed by the sight of a cloud
embracing snow. Somehow I realize there is
a companion of the road who is completely
not unfamiliar.  Because of Him, I can
continue.  I continue to be on the road
leading to my Home.




On the Morning of Resurrection
부활의 아침에


I feel
That the fog is clearing up in the valley of darkness

I have been wandering
In the middle of sorrow and disappointment

I feel
You give me light and I see the light

Lord, I feel
I see you come close to me

I feel
A road is opening up which I couldn’t see before with my open eyes

I feel
I see the road now that I should take

The road I should take
But I cannot take by myself

Lord, I pray
Hold my hand
Walk with me





The Colossal Root
거대한 뿌리


On the day Heaven and Earth opened
A tree was planted

When the mountains rose and the rivers opened
The tree was on the ground

It stood on the earth, spread its arms,
Faced heaven and received the nectar

Our blood vessels has its roads
Which lead to each and every root

The thin roots are gathered at the nest
Thin streams at the river

It becomes the Milky Way in the night sky
It becomes the rainbow in the day

It colors all the fruits of the earth bright and beautiful

Even in a dark night
It holds a sun in his heart





That Kind of Person
그런 사람


The kind of person
Who is always warm-hearted and warming my heart
Though I run into only once in a while

Who, when I open the window in a stuffy room,
Approaches me in the form of cool, fresh wind and stills my avarice

Who, when we take an early morning walk together,
Is beautiful, even the crust of sleep in his eyes .
His breathing is closer to me than song of a bird

Whose tightly-closed bud is rolling down the dewdrops
And bursting with the help of the sun

That’s the kind of person I want to be
And that’s the kind of person I want to meet
Then I will never be tired crossing a desert, climbing a high mountain
Then I will be the kind of person
Burning candle In the middle of the night




The Mountain Has a River All Around It
산이 강을 두르고


I hike the dried-up mountain everyday
There I watch the refreshing wind blow by
From the edges of the Kilimanjaro

I stand at the summit of the mountain
And wonder if it is you
With the dry shoulders revealing, you are so anxious

As the day brightens
You become a stream flowing around the mountainside
Taking your water level to the chest

I meet you across the river
Then you turn into a stream and nail my heart

As I come near you
You turn into snow-covered forest
And seep into me only through the heart, my heart




My Father’s House Was Warm
아버지 집은 따뜻했네


Winter is coming

Houses, made of empty refrigerator boxes,
are being built at night against the wall of the high-rise buildings
on the Broadway Street in Los Angeles
With their glories and ordeals,
the homeless are lying on the newspapers trying to sleep
Can they dream the old dreams?
The panhandled money of yesterday
sprouts the seeds of remorse
The laughter that used to reach over the fence
flows again in their hearts
“My father’s house was warm.”
As they return to reality, the bell rings in their ears early in the morning
It’s the morning service of the street church
They are choking with the sandwich the church gave them
There’s a yellow ribbon flying
on the top corner of a makeshift box house built overnight
That ribbon becomes the heart of the waiting father
and reaches far and wide with the aid of the sunlight

Winter worries multiply





Lily, You Always Keep Your Head Down
고개 숙인 백합화


What’s the story?
Why is your head down with your beautiful face?

You could look up
And smile a beautiful smile at me at least once

I wish I could see your charming beauty and dove-like eyes
But you just keep your head down silently

What’s the story?
Are you tired of waiting?
Are you in meditation?

Do you hide your face
Because you don’t want to show your bruised heart?

Do you rather try to forget?
Do you feel too much pain biting your lips?

Lily, you don’t answer my questions
You just keep your head down even now





My Precious Husband
소중한 남편


If one plus one equals one
It is definitely us

If there is a husband loved by his wife
It is you
If there is a wife delighted in her husband’s arms
It is me

You love is more valuable than any gold mine
And is worthier than any treasure on Earth

The flame of my love a river cannot put out
It is compensated only by your love
I cannot repay your love however hard I may try

As long as we both shall live
We will keep our love
And after we leave this world
We will live in the heaven forever






The Age-Weathered Wrinkles Are Enchanting
세월 속에 다져진 주름의 아름다움


What a long journey!
Circling and circling around the mountain through the long valleys
Sometimes you stay still in the pool
Then suddenly you form into the waterfalls, drop down and roll along
You carry four seasons countless times in you
Sometimes you are a calm river raising the water fog
When the storm comes, you make strong current with loud roar
When the autumn is in the air, you are in meditation, holding the heavens in your arms and draw the clouds there
Finally you reach the ocean
By now your sharp-edged, harsh characters are rounded and softened
You have been running to hide your inner flesh
Now you are breaking waves,
hugging good and evil, love and hate which time carried with in its arms
The age-weathered wrinkles are invaluable gifts not to be erased
The morning that said good-bye to the night,
The melody on the forehead looking at the evening stars,
They are beautiful





Waiting for Dawn
새벽을 기다리며


In the night smothered by darkness
Snow loses its luster
Even stars are not to be seen, blocked

Suddenly I hear a voice
Awake!  Awake!
My heart listens

I get up and straighten the edges
Darkness surrounds me and buries my path
Fear leads the way

Bumping along and falling
I proceed on my knees
Looking for the place of the rising sun

I am finished praying
Lying on my knees
Then He gives me light
He rolls out a snow white carpet on my path

In life as well as in dream
You shall follow the path, He said
So I wait everyday for dawn




This Autumn
이 가을엔


Lord, help me sing this song this autumn
All the wishes of the year bear fruits
And take me to the town on a tour with a basket full of those fruits,
And share them with the townspeople
Help me sing a song of joy in chorus
Help me, together with other members of the chorus, remember
The sizzling sun and the violent wind
Help me pour my tears of celebration remembering Your shower
When our throats parched with thirst in a drought
The abundant grains in the open field!
The ripe handsome fruits all the trees produce!
Help me offer you drinks of gratitude
For You gave us the picture where the trees took off the green skirts and surrounded the skies with their whole bodies
When the blue skies finally come down and the darkness falls in the empty field
Help me stand on the fallen leaves and repent
Help me realize that my repentance comes later than blessings and thanks
Help me pray on my knees
Help me dream a dream where I go to church while the bell is ringing
early in the morning on the white carpet snow installed




A Sleeping Volcano Is Awakening
깨어나는 휴화산


Angry waves of tsunami and forceful wind of hurricane
Together they awaken the sleeping volcano

As if showers are added to the sound of music
The boiling sound is making ripples
And the lava is blocking a river and flows through the blood vessels

The piled-up remorse is melted and clotted with lava
It then stays in the heart again
When on earth can it weather?

When on earth can I
Plant flower seeds in the heart,
Sail a paper ship on gentle waves,
Fly a kite that catches a soft breeze
And look to heaven in awe?

I want to be a flower
Blooming on lava
I want to be a light, not a burning flame




Family Month
가정의 달

The days of our lives are as precious as
The shining stars in the night sky
May has thirty days to live
My daughter asks me if I know what the month of May is about  

Yes!
It’s the family month
Sitting around the dining table
We are the chips off the old block all around
Our laughter fills the room
Who is better than us between heaven and earth?

Mom takes after Dad
Dad takes after Mom
The Kid exactly takes after Mom and Dad

Happy, peaceful family breeds happy, bright society
Shouldn’t it be the way for this world to be a peaceful place?
The fragrance of the happy family that May started
Continues to another three hundred sixty five days




The Tea House
찻집


The strong aroma of the lily visited me
Together with the smell of the night

Tonight I go to the place alone  
Where we used to sit and have tea together

We could see the warm breath coming out of our two hearts
We had to hold our breath so as not to waste the fragrance of lily
I was not able to get across my silent message on my mind
I had to appease my sorrow and aching heart

In the empty tea house where stars sit down
Only silence keeps the place
All the past memories are getting buried in the darkness

I cannot grasp the fragrance of my mind
I imagine I have no choice but to discontinue this silent conversation in the tea house

Even star light looks lonely tonight
The fragrance is running away again and the cup of tea is cooling down
I am imprisoned in the dense fog tonight





Fruits Not To Be Harvested
- A Ride on the Back of Time
추수할 수 없는 열매
- 세월의 등을 타고


Sometimes it seems to stay between my two hands
With which I pray on my knees early in the morning

It causes thunder, shakes heaven and earth
And burns the bright candlelight of spring

At times it rides a river fleeting meaninglessly
And stays in the ice and waits

It does not follow anything and nothing can push it
It connects everything knot by knot

No fishing net can catch it
It continues from yesterday to today

Tomorrow
All the knots will have new buds

The tree of love and hate!
The fruits on the branches of the tree are impossible to harvest

Somewhere over the mountain
Heaven opens
And now I plant the seeds




Three Days Later
그 사흘 뒤


The women returned, stood in front of the stone
And remembered everything that happened three days ago

They are waiting for the miracle to happen
He made the paralyzed walk, the blind see and the dead come alive

The cross was stained and soaked with His blood and sweat
Yet His face, to the last moment, did not show
excruciating pains, sorrow and grievances

There was, all of a sudden, a cloud, thunder and lightening
The sun stopped shining and darkness came over the whole land
The earth shook and the rocks split
And He bowed His head and went on his way

Three days later
He won over darkness and shadow of death
And returned and lighted the whole world with hope
His Way of truth and life is extended to us

He is walking on great month of April and continues towards us
His breath of vitality is all over the mountain and field

That miracle of rise after three days could never have been a secret
You came back with the mystery of a new life

I will fill the oil in my lamp with all my heart
And make myself prepared for meeting my groom
Who will come soon, burning the darkness with His light





The Way
길

A way leads to another
Neither my own way nor byway is a way to go
A shortcut is not a right way
I should not go to the blind alley
I should go to the straight way

There lies a Way that embraces a mountain and carries a river
A generously tolerant mountain and a wisely stroking river
are good matches
Truth and love abides in the Way

On the Way
Good and evil travels
So does love and hate
We all say we go our own ways
But the right way is to follow the footsteps
of Him who is the Way and the Truth and the Life




The Chorus of the Injured Flowerers
아픈 꽃들의 합창

I heard
The chorus of the injured flowers
I saw  
The bright smile of the injured flowers

You could have wept for long with the broken hearts
You could have lamented the indigent living and tired life

Oh, morning glory!
Wet with dew, you are in full bloom
You just thank God for your life

You sing for the joy of life
You just praise God
For the bright morning sun

You are both joyful and thankful
You are wise enough
To be modest to call the edges of the road your place

That’s all because your hope is in the heaven
Because you have met the Lord
You have your joy and praise




Forbidden Fruit
금단의 열매



It’s a red, red apple
I am looking at the forbidden fruit hanging from the end of the branch
Again today I give up on my dreams of desire

My body is always feeling extremely thirsty
There was a small tunnel built in my heart
Through the hollow in my heart
Indescribable sense of emptiness came in and out like the wind

Then one day involuntarily
I picked the apple and took it to my heart
Oh, how can this be?  I was terrified.
I saw the forbidden fruit in the tunnel of my heart
The fruit was so fresh

Then warm blood circulated all over my body
And unutterable passion and joy
ebbed in my cold and lonely heart like a wave
A riverbank collapsed

Again today I am looking at the forbidden fruit
A bite of moist sweet apple would feel like a shower
And I dream that enchanting dream
I am a sinner who treats my loneliness with forbidden fruit





Rest in Peace
평안히 계십시오


Mother, you are departing us
I feel saddened though it would be temporary absence
I cut off part of my heart and attach it to you

While living here on this land, how much hardship did you take?
How about violent storm, freezing, frost, blizzard?
War and poverty?

I know, among other things, fear and suffering was with you
As conflict and distress was with the Israelites on the way to Canaan

You cast a big protective shadow for the family
You took good care of your kids
You were anxious to keep us from getting sick or hurt

You are bent with age
I see, on your back, the trace of heavy burden your life carried
I know the wrinkles on your once-fair face are the marks of hardship

But we believe
That finally you will be able to rest near the throne of God
And that you will keep on praying for us

Mother!
Take off the heavy load of life and go in peace
Don’t look back but just start your journey to the gate of heaven

Mother!
Rest in peace
Till we will meet again!





What We Want Is
우리가 원하는 것은


What we want is a beautiful shining rainbow
We want to see the rainbow span the north and south sky
After the dark clouds are washed away by the showers

What we want is a firefly that glows
We want to see a glimmering firefly that brightens the world
Leading us from a dark field to a clear water

What we want is an umbrella that will shield us from a sudden shower
We want to have an umbrella in the shape of a big dome
That protects us from scattering shower with gusty wind

What we want is a small ferry boat to fetch us to the other side far away
We want to have a tiny ferry to cross the waters
So we may share our sorrows and wash away the pains

What we want is a flask of water with love
We want to have a flask of water
stretched out with a helping hand, to wet my throat and let me stand up
When I fall down from exhaustion wandering in the wild field

What we want is a tree that will provide a big shade
We want to have a tree where birds with tired wings may rest
and people worn out in the sun may catch their breath

What we want is a mountain that always remains a part of nature
We want to have a big mountain where a rainbow shows up, a firefly flies,
a forest protects us from rain, waters flow for a ferry to float, and the living water streams




Prayer for the New Family
새 가정에 드리는 기도

The morning sun rises, the sky opens wide
A river runs through the mountain under the sky,
A picture in the art form!

One stands as a tree in a mountain does
Another as a rock island on a river
Still God arranges for them to call each other with their whole bodies  
Lord, you allowed them to be companions
Fill their tent with your grace

Let their love grow
Let their hearts grow fonder each time their eyes are met
Let every window bright with the waiting heart
Let the bouquet fill the rooms with fragrance

Should they be under heavy burden and in pain
Give them wisdom to find a way out
Should they have to swallow a bitter pill of endurance
Give them strength to encourage, count on each other
Give them tenacity not to discontinue their prayer

May all their mornings be the ones
Where they wake up to the church bell and modestly pray on their knees
May this new family build peace and harmony
And may He guide this family not to procrastinate
on their way to eternal life




To My Daughter, Chayun Whom the Good Lord Loves
주님이 사랑하는 딸 자연이에게

At the age of 50, when I should know the will of the Heaven,
I quietly turn back and realize that my precious daughter is leaving us
An apple of my eye!  One who has filled my house with joy!

Seems to me
Only days ago, you were a young girl
Lord must have raised you
Now you are a beautiful woman starting a family with your soul mate
I am so happy I cry thankful tears

Chayun, life is wild wilderness
Life journey, at times, can be quite weary
At those times I want you two
To hold each other’s hands
To believe that Lord is walking with you  
To pray in one mind early in the morning to the sound of church bells
And to be a bright morning star

Chayun, may God bless you
To become the light that soars over darkness
To become fragrance of the lilies
To rush to the people, wait on them hand and foot
And to enjoy the life serving others
I hope you would live a life
To go the extra mile to visit the needy in the cold places
To, in His love, hug them and warm the place
And to lead a full life where you plant flower seeds and care for them

Remember it is God that makes them grow and bear fruits

I confess to you I am really blessed
Because God has allowed me
To witness two lovebirds having to fly in pairs





A Life Following the Morning Star
- Prayer for the Church and Our Nation
새벽 별을 따라 살며
- 교회와 민족을 위해 -


Heaven opened, earth extended
Morning came first
That first day has continued to today
We have lived each day
Not knowing if it will be foggy, sunny, cloudy, windy or rainy tomorrow
Not realizing that You gave us seeds to plant for harvest
Not remembering that You gave us a dwelling place blocking wind and rain
And we forgot that You brought us here
We rushed to gluttony, lust, pride and wrath
You fastened our feet in the stocks, tempered us in your love
When we were among the wining, dining and dancing
You called us to go to Golgotha
There you taught us
To stand on the rock of Words
To love brothers and sisters
And to embroider flowers on the carpet of love
You led us to the land we could enter only if we were born again
You guided us to stand up in the darkness and follow the morning star
Hand in hand and in one mind
Let us live a life spreading the Word to the people
In the frozen land and the remote country places
Let us live a life of power following You, Lord




Greeting New Year Based on Reflections
반성을 바탕으로 또 한 해를

Another year comes to an end, New Year dawns
Some people say it goes and comes
Some people watch it go by
Some people wave goodbye and say hello
Some people divide it into subject and object
At the turn of the year
I think about how to greet New Year and evaluate the one going away
And I reflect on the past year with regrets and remorse
Then I set out my plans and resolution for the New Year
Looking back, this past year had many days
I have lived under pressure day after day
“Joy is short, agony is long” said someone
I wish I could have done more to help my neighbors out of all those days
I feel ashamed on the days my hatred dominated
To some people, this New Year may be just another year
But to someone, tomorrow could be the most important turning point in life
Why then, why can’t I be that very person?
Days connected are seasons
Spring, summer, fall and winter
365 days, 24 hours a day, or 12 months makes a year
Even a great wall begins with a single brick
So we should greet each day of New Year with respect
Time and tide neither draws nor drops us nor, of course, waits for us
Fairly enough, everyone is given equal time
Let it be worthwhile time
Worthwhile time would mean a worthwhile life
Wasted time would mean a wasted empty life
This New Year, let each one of us manage time wisely
Let us do it with efforts and determination
So we may not be ashamed and regretful a year later






I Still Ride the Jam-Packed Bus in My Dream
나는 아직도 꿈에 만원버스를 탄다


My house in our village was around the mountain in the background
Larks sing, then golden bells bloom in spring
In summer, sound of cicadas and water scooters mix and match
In autumn, the singing of the crickets reminds me to miss my brothers
Migratory birds leave, then winter comes

Hens flap their wings, then morning breaks
Dogs bark, then cows moo
Around the well round-robin gossip is in the air
In the evening when people cook their dinners
Smoke rising from the chimneys surrounds the mountainside
Even wind rests awhile by then
We were poor but it was our sweet hometown

But a long drought dried the water
And the farmland was lost during a rainy season
Our dreams were swept off by the storm
Looking for better livelihood and seeking our dreams
We left our home town for the big towns, factories and cities

A couple of times a month I follow Mom to the market
There is a covered wagon mobile restaurant in the alley near the cattle market
We are in the shoe store
My toes are sticking through the holes of my shoes
I still vividly remember my hometown
The neighbors, the brothers and sisters are scattered all over
Here I am just missing my hometown

We left hometown to get out of poverty and to make our dreams come true
I have dim but loving memories of the school excursion in spring and athletic meet in autumn
Even now, when I remember the nickel silver lunch box,
I can smell kimchi at my side
I flew over the great ocean and struggled strenuously to take root here
Only now the bud begins to blossom in this place

Every night I still miss those loving faces from the jam-packed bus





Following the Light
그 빛을 따라


A big tree fell down together with his shadow
27 years
Quarter-Century
A generation has already passed

On the street of Seoul on the morning
Did the wind come?
Was there a cloud in the sky?
A star was setting

It rained
Every one of us was getting wet in the rain

He had dreamt to build roads in my wilderness-like homeland
He had dreamt to nourish the land by embanking the rivers
Before his dreams came true
The bitter root from a firearm pierced through his heart
Our dreams were shattered too

Like a bolt out of the blue!
We were just in the middle of overcoming the obstacle of poverty like spring food shortage

As we went over a number of obstacles
We saw the hope
In the abundant grains in the open field
In the smoke rising from the plant chimneys across the nation

A quarter of a century, a generation has passed since he was gone
Only a dense fog can be seen on the sea ahead
As years go by, his great light stirs my heart
I follow the light he left in the history


Motif: A quarter-century, 27 years exactly, has passed since the former President Park Chung-hee demised.In my father land, political infighting continues and welfare of the people is neglected.On the 27th anniversary, I wrote this poem in loving memory of former president Park.




You  Are the Foundation of a Mountain Fortress
  - To our baby, Joshua Hanyoung Choi -
산성의 바탕이 되어
   -최한영 아기에게-
          

Your umbilical cord is connected to us
Like a shooting star, you came down
Into the ancient forest our great-great granddad’s father had prepared
Then you became the solid rock among us

On March 11, 2007
When everything in this part of the world
Was still cold and damp, crouching
You descended for us as a light
Became our hope
And dauntlessly shone around us

May you be the foundation for the mountain fortress
That protects us, The Family of stone
You be the splendor of sunrise
That melts winter into spring
That gives power to bear fruits during summer
That reaps the abundant harvest during autumn
May you extend your hands like the sunlight, reach out, touch and help others
Give light to the dark places
Let there be only peace wherever you go
Always walk with God
And let your life overflow with His grace like a river




The Unfinished Picture
못다 그린 그림

I continue to draw again today the picture I did not finish
The far and wide space between you and me
Becomes the canvass which I try to fill with drawing
But the empty space gets even larger and larger
The time of your absence
Accumulates in the space, covering my picture and making it disappear
I continue to draw again today
The same picture I tried to finish yesterday
The longer I draw, the larger the space becomes
Time naturally drives out the picture
And my aching heart leaves a mark there
Is this what they call yearning?
Even now my picture does not reveal a shape
It just becomes larger and larger




A Certain Promise
어떤 약속

One day it runs in blue
Another day it turns to grey
Meanders before staying still
It grows to be a blue river even with white snow in its arms
Struck by rain, it lies down in grey
Meets with a sunset boulevard

It’s been a long journey since I rose at dawn
As I look back, hazes are blooming around the edges of my eyes
Filling the morning trail on which I stand

Rolling down the steep hill
The silent tears that I cried when I left
Becomes the sound of ice cracking

Standing on the trail that runs parallel with the river
I am walking not too slowly on this path that greets the flowers, wind and the sunshine
I am living in this time of fall that sent summer away
That had welcomed winter and embraced spring




From the Bottom of My Memories
기억의 밑변

Couldn’t think of anything warm
But the reflecting light on the window melts my heart
The melting water flows down, turns into the icicle
And hangs in the sky
Those trout swimming against the current
I wonder where they stop swimming
The thoughts you and I think
Are still swimming here
Three years, four years and five years
Ten years is just ten times one
How come these numbers come to me like square numbers
Standing on the riverside, watching the slow-running water
I look back on those springs
That were swallowed by the pollen floating on the waters





A Walking Flower
걷는 꽃


A flower is walking
She is walking in the rain, walking in the wind

Her leaves are flying
Flying in the mist, flying in the snow

Apart from others, she is walking
Walking on the mountain, walking in the field

Not able to fly like butterflies
She opens her leaves and rides the wind

One single flower
That blooms one single time at the end of one single day

She buries one piece of poem gently and cautiously
Under another sky that is breaking out




Alone on an Island  2
섬에 홀로 남게되는 2


I was not on a glacier in the North Pole
That suddenly broke itself and calved into the sea with a thunderous sound
But out of the blue I found myself left alone on a lonely island

People from the faraway overseas city where I once had lived
Just anticipate my escaping on my own
Neither a soul nor a rescue boat was to be found in my sight

The violent razor-sharp waves try to scar me
Through the blizzards surrounding the mountain top
My poor soul was rather in desperate pain with the sorrowful solitude
Than it was boiling with anger like lava

This is the season I feel sadder
Sadder than in those days when my first sorrow was conceived
After the storm is calmed eventually
The balmy breeze will hit the foggy mountainside
Then the mountain cleared of the fog
Will reveal the mighty mountaintop




Full Moon        
만월


One day in those early times
A seed of a star was planted in my body
Nourished by the sound of the river, it was budding
And it became the crescent moon
I bathed in the river, ready to deliver
A moon came out in the shape of a white porcelain vase

Then one day you grew up and got married
Every single night
You two were playing the flute and counting the stars
Did you get the seed of the Sun this time?
On the circular ocean current surrounded by the sound of the rivers
The crescent moon was floating and sailing like a ferry boat
Seems to me it waxed to a full moon in no time

Over the seas at dawn, to the flow of the tide
Rises a crimson Sun that looks just like you
Oh, you are the Sun, baby Sun

Oh, baby!  Oh, baby!
You look just like the Sun
Come on, jump out of the river
Let’s go into the Flower Palace soaked in silver light
Where the moonlight and starlight pours out
Together we’ll go see the flowers and celebrate  




May You Be Our Dream, Our Reward
우리의 꿈이고 보람이게


Baby, oh,
Our baby
You have come to us
As if a flower bud would in the new spring

Embracing in your arms rivers, oceans
And all seasons
You have come to us as a spring would, oh, baby

Pushing your way through the big valley forest
You leaped to our arms
To the sound of breaking iceberg
As a clean and bright light would, oh, baby!

The sound of rain and wind you have heard in the womb
Became your breath
And your first cry became our joy
And our reward

On top of the big tall tree in the high mountain
Fill your heart with open sea
Hold the blue sky in your arms and
Carry your dream upon your shoulders

On your journey, remember Him who leads the way
Let Him fill you with His blessing
May you be our dream
May you be our reward





On Joshua Hanyoung’s 100th Day Anniversary  
한영이 백일에 부쳐


Hundred is not just a number.
Before your hundredth day,
a cornerstone was first laid.
That day, while your Mom was
still in pain, was holding you with joy.
Just as God caused the tree of life
to grow in the middle of the garden,
after He rested from all His work
creating the heaven and the earth,
God had us give birth to you
blessed you seven times seven,
filled your hundred days with health,
had you come to know the light,
sound, and Mom’s voice during these first 100 days
So you, of course, are our joy
Now may your 100 days be 100 years
And may all your 100 years be rewarding    




나성별곡
The Sad Ballad of L.A.

City of Angels is
not always peaceful  
Tangled, entangled, twisted
Not a word is to be heard
You just have to tell by the looks
if they love you or hate you
You just go on with your emotion buried
behind the highs and lows of the voice
In a café
hangs a picture of buffaloes and sheep  
in peaceful harmony with the hills and mountains  
it’s quite different from those poor, but happy old days
John and Jane Doe split up
You and I feel friction, stuck together, giddy
These stories are leaking out through the window
Shame Lost spins around on the ceiling fan blade  
But I still see the indigo sky
In the evening, the glowing colors of sunset painting the sky red
On the grass
I watch a white ball rolling
I hear children shouting, answering
Balloons float up, tied on the pine tree in the park
Will such tomorrow come?  
Keep shaking my head
I just live for today