Sim Wooki, poem
Moderator 
Ice Coffee
Sim woo Ki
One must carry the heart of winter.
To look upon the round ice floating in a glass
and the dry frost clinging to snow-covered pine branches
with the very same temperature—
and the dry frost clinging to snow-covered pine branches
with the very same temperature—
I spend the whole summer making ice.
I fill every bowl to the brim,
then take the January sun
caught on the tip of a spruce tree
and stir it into the cold coffee.
then take the January sun
caught on the tip of a spruce tree
and stir it into the cold coffee.
Each time I stir the coffee,
a season settles to the bottom.
a season settles to the bottom.
For only skin long disciplined by cold
can erase the tragedy
from the sound of the wind.
can erase the tragedy
from the sound of the wind.
When round ice and square ice
knock against each other
and play inside the glass,
knock against each other
and play inside the glass,
I behold Nothingness
as they slowly disappear.
as they slowly disappear.
It is only the sound of leaves
rising from the earth,
the sound of the same wind
filling the empty sky.
rising from the earth,
the sound of the same wind
filling the empty sky.
Standing in the snow
with my ears open,
with my ears open,
I am no longer
one who eats ice,
one who eats ice,
but one
who has become ice.
who has become ice.
The moment I realize
that I am nothing,
that I am nothing,
only then does it begin to reveal itself—
the emptiness that is nowhere,
and the emptiness
already overflowing everywhere.
already overflowing everywhere.
I melt as I stand,
I stand as I vanish.
I am
February's transparent snowman.
February's transparent snowman.
아이스 커피
심우기
반드시 겨울의 마음을 가져야 한다
컵 속에 둥둥 떠다니는 동그란 얼음과
눈 덮인 소나무 가지의 마른 서리를
똑같은 온도로 바라보려면
나는 여름 내내 얼음을 만든다
그릇마다 얼음을 가득 채우고
가문비나무 끝에 걸린 일월의 태양을
차가운 커피 속에 집어넣어 휘젓는다
커피 속을 저을 때마다
한 계절이 가라앉았다
한 계절이 가라앉았다
오랫동안 추위에 길들여진 살갗만이
바람 소리에서 비극을 지워낼 수 있으므로
동그란 얼음과 네모난 얼음이
잔 속에서 서로 몸을 부딪치며 장난을 칠 때*
그것들이 녹아 사라지는 '무(Nothing)'를 본다
그것은 땅에서 나는 잎사귀 소리이자
텅 빈 허공을 채운 같은 바람의 소리일 뿐
눈 속에서 귀를 열고 서 있는
이제 얼음을 먹는 자가 아니라
스스로 얼음이 된 자
나 자신이 아무것도 아니라는 것을 깨닫는 순간
비로소 보이기 시작한다
거기 존재하지 않는 무(無)와
이미 그곳에 가득 차 있는 실재하는 무(無)
나는 녹으면서 서 있고
서 있으면서 사라지는 이월의 투명한 설인(雪人)이다
Refashioning
I cut
and cut again
an old pair of jeans.
and cut again
an old pair of jeans.
Long pants
become shorts.
become shorts.
Blue cloth
becomes a wallet,
becomes a bag.
becomes a wallet,
becomes a bag.
Patching,
mending,
stitching,
sewing.
mending,
stitching,
sewing.
One day,
from a single garment
other garments
spill out.
other garments
spill out.
One garment
gives birth
to a smaller one,
gives birth
to a smaller one,
the smaller one
to something
smaller still.
to something
smaller still.
At last,
nothing remains
but a single thread.
but a single thread.
Someone
cuts
a perfectly good garment
a perfectly good garment
to make
a bag with no mouth,
a bag with no mouth,
slings it over a shoulder,
and crosses the street.
The streets
are filled
with people
who can never
be remade.
*이수명 시 차용
리폼
오래된 청바지를
자르고 또 자른다
자르고 또 자른다
긴 바지는 반바지가 되고
푸른 천은
지갑이 되고 가방이 된다
푸른 천은
지갑이 되고 가방이 된다
덧대고
잇고
꿰매고
박는다
잇고
꿰매고
박는다
어느 날
한 벌의 옷 속에서
또 다른 옷들이 쏟아져 나오는 걸 본다
한 벌의 옷 속에서
또 다른 옷들이 쏟아져 나오는 걸 본다
한 벌이
작은 한 벌을 낳고
그 작은 옷은
더 작은 조각을 낳는다
작은 한 벌을 낳고
그 작은 옷은
더 작은 조각을 낳는다
끝내
한올 실만 남는다
한올 실만 남는다
누군가는
멀쩡한 옷을 잘라
입구 없는 자루를 만들고
그것을 메고
거리를 건넌다
멀쩡한 옷을 잘라
입구 없는 자루를 만들고
그것을 메고
거리를 건넌다
다시는
리폼되지 못하는 사람들로
거리는 가득하다
리폼되지 못하는 사람들로
거리는 가득하다
Biography of Poet Sim Wooki
Poet Sim Wooki was born on July 4, 1964, in Hamyeol, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea. He completed his doctoral coursework in English Literature at Gachon University in 2013.
His literary debut came in 2011 with the publication of his work in Poetry Literature. In 2012, he was awarded a creative writing grant from the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture. In 2013, he published his first poetry collection, Thirteen Ways of Seeing a Black Flower, which was selected as a Sejong Outstanding Book in 2014.
In 2016, he expanded his literary reach with the publication of his poetry collection in English, Read My Love, You. Over the years, he has authored several additional works, including his second collection Secret Envoy, as well as Ice Pillar of Fireand The Day the First Snow Falls, the latter co-authored.
In addition to his writing, Sim Woo ki has contributed to academia by teaching at Kyungwon University, Inha Technical College, and Gachon University.
Përgatiti për publikim Angela Kosta
Preparato per la pubblicazione da Angela Kosta
