Lee, Hee Kuk, an award-winning poet from Korea, the Land of Morning Calm, shares his three poems  

 Lee, Hee Kuk, a poet, born in Seoul city of South Korea, is Pharmacist and Adjunct Professor of College of Pharmacy, The Catholic University of Korea. He is an Executive Member of PEN Korean Center of PEN International. He published 5 poetry books and has won 4 Literature awards.

Inner angle

 Inside and outside the window

There are two boundaries.

In that transparent body born in the hot turbulence

Hiding numerous bone fragments

On a clear day, a glass window with light coming and going

The feelings inside and outside the window are different,

And the eyes on the window are blurred.

When the unbearable cold hits the windowpane

A sharp angle that pops out the moment communication stops.

Crystal frost flakes bloom on the window

Shards of the window holding on to each other as one piece

Even Their hard eyes are filled with tears

A misunderstanding as solid as ice

The warm words given first,

Round the sharp corners

A handful of breath erase the petals of frost.

The sound of melting winter,

It’s spring now.

***

내면의 각

이희국

유리창에는 안과 밖

두개의 경계가 있다

뜨거운 격랑 속에서 태어난 저 말간 몸에

수많은 뼛조각을 숨기고 있다

맑은 날, 빛이 오가던 유리창

안팎의 마음이 달라 눈시울이 흐려지고

견딜 수 없는 추위에 부딪치면

소통을 멈추고 순간 튀어나오는 예리한 각

서로를 붙잡고 한 장으로 버티는 유리창의 파편들

단단한 눈에도 눈물은 배어있다

얼음장처럼 굳은 오해

먼저 건넨 따스한 한마디가 각진 모서리를

둥글게 하고

한 줌의 입김이 성에의 꽃잎을 지운다

겨울을 녹이는 소리,

이제 봄이다.

***

 Father

My father always turned his back

Highly educated father from a prestigious family

The dreams of youth are shattered by the whirlwind of history.

He didn’t want to see fools leading, so he looked behind the times.

When my mother went everywhere to look for money because I didn’t have tuition,

My father ran out shouting that he would burn all the useless books.

I used to hear small cries from afar

When the rice jar is empty

I went out with a radio that was like a friend.

The radio sounded as if the volume had been turned up to the limit.

A soap opera on the 20th anniversary of liberation that made the alley cry

It was a meal that the family of five ate by ear.

The incandescent light flickers with anxiety, not knowing when it will go out.

When his son bought a house in his father’s name,

My father came running with the angriest face in 35 years.

Why are you so nice to me? What a harsh feeling!

No, because you are the father

My wish was to buy my parents a house.

I cried for a long time when I saw my father face to face.

15 years later, I see my father’s portrait.

You are smiling brightly.

***

아버지

이희국

아버지는 언제나 돌아서 있었다

명문가의 고학력 아버지

역사의 회오리에 청운의 꿈 부서지고

하수들 설치는 꼴 보기 싫어 시대의 뒤편만 찾아다녔다

등록금 없어 어머니가 사방으로 뛰어다닐 때,

배워봐야 쓸모없는 책 다 태워버린다고 소리치고 나가던 아버지

멀리서 작은 울음이 들려오곤 했다

쌀독이 바닥을 드러내면

친구 같은 라디오를 들고 나갔고

한계까지 볼륨을 올린 듯 라디오가 울었다

골목이 떠나가도록 울리던 광복20년 연속극

다섯 식구가 귀로 먹는 밥이었다.

언제 꺼질지 모르는 백열등이 불안으로 깜빡거리고

아버님 이름으로 아들이 집을 사자,

35년 만에 가장 화난 얼굴로 뛰어오신 아버지

너 나한테 왜 이렇게 잘해? 무슨 억한 마음이냐!

아니요, 아버지니까요

부모님 집 사드리는 게 소원이었다고

아버지와 얼굴을 맞대고 한참이나 울었는데

15년이 지나 영정으로 마주한 아버지

활짝 웃고 계신다.

***

Mother’s twilight

The sound of knitting all night long

Char, char, char.

Every time, mother’s youth slipped away.

We fell asleep looking at your lonely back

Every morning, I would wake up to the sound of scraping rice pots.

Even though I saw you going to work with an empty stomach

I complained that I was hungry with a half-full bowl of rice.

Even if you have cancer in your body

A mother who cried all night because she couldn’t pay for her child’s college entrance fees

Now my mother says she’s afraid of the dark

The sewing machine my mother operated all her life

Next to her broken self who forgot how to operate

There were piles of scraps of fabric that could not be thrown away.

Phone numbers written in a notebook

A mother who can only receive

For a moment, I look at an unfamiliar figure as if I were a stranger

There is no way to help

I open your door at dawn

Every day, mother receive a new day as a gift.

***

어머니의 황혼

이희국

밤새워 편물 짜는 소리

차르르 차르르

그때마다 올올이 젊음이 빠져나갔습니다

당신의 쓸쓸한 등을 보며 잠들었던 우리

새벽마다 쌀독 긁는 소리에 눈을 뜨곤 했습니다

빈속으로 일 나가던 당신을 보면서도

반쯤 담긴 밥그릇에 배고프다 투정했습니다

암 덩이 몸에 담고도

자식 대학입학금 마련 못해 통곡으로 밤새우던 어머니

이제는 어둠이 무섭다고 합니다

평생을 굴리던 재봉틀

작동 법을 잊어버려 고장 난 분신 곁에는

버리지 못한 자투리 천들만 수북이 쌓였습니다

수첩에 빽빽이 적힌 전화번호들

수신만 가능한 어머니

잠깐 잠깐 타인인 듯 낯선 모습을 보면서도

무엇 하나 도울 길이 없습니다

새벽이면 열어보는 당신의 방문

날마다 새 하루를 선물로 받으며 삽니다.

Published under International Cooperation with "Sindh Courier"