Everything was drunk

With the fever of flame.

I was a gray rag, drained of all color.

Ms. Yoo Dong Ae, a poet from Korea, the Land of Morning Calm, shares her poem 

Poet Yoo Dong Ae was born in Namhae, Gyeongnam Province. She graduated from Jinju Girls’ High School, Jinju National Teachers’ College, and Hansung University with a degree in Korean Language and Literature. She retired after a long career as an elementary school teacher. She made her literary debut in 1992 in the poetry section of Munyesajo. She currently serves as Vice President of the Korean Association of World Literature. She has also served as the inaugural Secretary-General of the Gangdong Literary Association and as President of the Gurye Literary Association. Her poetry collections include With the Flowers That Bloom Within Me (2017, supported by the Jeonnam Cultural Foundation’s Literary Creation Grant), and Sunlight on Broken Porcelain (2019, also supported by the Jeonnam Cultural Foundation’s Literary Creation Grant). She has also contributed to the poetry anthology Water Dreams of the Sea.

Rumor

The clouds gathering in the western sky

Were golden masses of molten glass!

Windowpanes were ablaze

Sparks seemed ready to fly in all directions.

As far as the eye could see, a vast sea of fire stretched out,

Even the air was burning,

Drenched in crimson shadow.

Everything was drunk

With the fever of flame.

I was a gray rag, drained of all color.

***

소문

서편에 몰려 있는 구름은

황금빛 커다란 유리덩어리였다

창유리가 불타고 있었다

금방 불티가 사방으로 튈 듯이 보였다

눈이 닿는 데까지 허허하게 펼쳐진 불바다였다

공기조차도 타고 있었다

붉은 그림자가 어려 있었다

불의 흥분 속에 모두가 취하고 있었다

나는 색을 잃어버린 잿빛 누더기였다