KIM, Jong Deog (poem)
Moderator 
Kim, Jong Deog (poem)
Light
The origine of life is light.
Like sunlight wrapping around leaves,
When I gently close my eyes,
The past, present, and future brush against my eyelids
Appering like a film.
That is why darkness creates life.
Seeds awaken in the darkness,
And invisible dreams sprout,
And emerge as beautiful lights in the black soil.
When difficulties arise,
We taste despair and surrender ourselves to the dark world.
However, like roots in the ground,
The flow of time grows silently,
And as darkness settles and brilliant sunlight rises,
It is a flower that blooms in the darkness of life.
When it is not visible,
It loses its color and wanders,
But when light seeps in,
It blooms again as a beautiful flower.
Only then do we see ourselves,
And feel ourselves growing in ecstatic beauty.
Light is not turned on for personal glory.
Even deep in the dark forest,
I never knew how strong and beautiful a life I was.
When light comes to me and awakens life,
And spreads to my neighbors,
It brightens my heart and
Creates a greater life, a deeper ‘me.’
Flowers bloom not because they are happy,
But to overcome stromes, and cold,
And to rise wisely above hardship.
That is why seeds are born,
And those seeds carry life again,
To new ground and continue the world.
Light
It is not merely brightness,
But the very birth of life.
Biography
Kim Jong-deog (Ph.D. of Pharmacy, Korea)) is currently working as a pharmacist at a hospital after retiring from the professor of Department of Biotechnology at Chonnam National University. He served as Vice President, Editor, and Editor-in-Chief of the Korean Society for Biotechnology and Bioengineering(KSBB), and is a regular member of the Korean Writers’ Association. He has published two volumes of poetry (Go to the Way of the Sun!), (Birds Building a Nest on a Windy Day) and two volumes of essays (Longing Never Sheds Tears Without Waiting: Seoul Citizen Literary Award Grand Prize Winner), (Waiting In Itself Replaces Forgiveness: Dante Literary Association Grand Prize Winner). He has also published numerous books on antioxidants, anticancer, and biotechnology, all of which are related to his major. He is a member of the Yeosu Writers’ Association in Yeosu, and the co-representative of the Yeosu Culture and Arts Sharing Community in Yeosu, Jeollanam-do, South KOREA.
Into KOREAN ---
빛
김 종 덕(대한민국, KOREA)
생명의 고향은 빛이다.
햇살이 나뭇잎을 비추듯
눈을 감으면
과거, 현재, 미래의 일들이 눈꺼풀에 스쳐
영상처럼 떠오른다.
그래서 어둠은 생명을 만들어 낸다.
씨앗은 어둠 속에서 깨어나고
보이지 않던 꿈이 움트며
검은 흙 속에서
아름다운 빛으로 돋아난다.
어려운 일이 생길 때
절망을 맛보며 검은 세상에 몸을 맡긴다.
그러나 땅속의 뿌리처럼
시간의 흐름은 조용히 자라
어둠이 가라앉고
찬란한 햇빛이 솟아오르듯
삶의 어둠 속에 피어나는
한 떨기 꽃이다.
보이지 않을 때는
색을 잃고 방황하지만
빛이 새어들면
다시 아름다운 꽃으로 피어난다.
그제야 스스로가 보이고
황홀한 아름다움 속에서
자신이 자라고 있음을 느낀다.
빛은 개인의 영화를 위해 켜지지 않는다.
깜깜한 숲속에서도
자신이 얼마나 단단하고 아름다운
생명이었는지를 알지 못했다.
빛이 나에게 와서 생명을 틔우고
이웃에게 퍼지면
마음을 밝히고
더 큰 삶, 더 깊은 ‘나’를 만든다.
꽃이 피는 것은 즐거워서가 아니라
비바람과 추위를 견디며
어려움을 슬기롭게 벗어나기 위함이다.
그래서 씨앗이 생기고
그 씨앗은 다시 새로운 땅으로
생명을 전하고 세상을 잇는다.
빛—
그것은 단순한 밝음이 아니라,
생명의 탄생을 의미한다.
