POEM BY CHOI DAE-SEOUNG (SOUTH KOREA)
Poet Mr. Choi Dae-Seoung debuted with “Munyesajo”. He has served in various capacities including as an executive of the Planning Division of the Korean Language Cultivation Committee of the Korean Writers’ Association, an executive of the Poetry Division of the Chungnam Literary Association, Vice President of the Buddhist Literary Writers Association, an executive of the Korea Forest Literature Society, and a member of Ieodo Literary Society, the Salt Flower Poetry Society, and the Korean Literary Writers Association.
He has received several accolades, including the Main Prize of the “Munyesajo” Literary Award and the Grand Prize of the Contemporary Literary Movement Writer’s Award. He was also selected as the 2021 Gongju Cultural Foundation Literary Person of the Year.
His poetry collections include “Standing by the River Endlessly” and “Memories of Innocence”.
RIVER
Where does the river come from?
Pushing through the mist between the mountains,
Where does the majestic river come from?
Its endless silent flow,
Hiding unknown depths, where does it come from?
The red sun climbs the mountains,
The river is now dressed in golden clothes.
The sun and the river become one in a feverish frenzy,
Burning the whole body, the fierce whirlwinds raging without a scream.
Where does the river come from?
The river flows, waking the dawn star,
The red sun sparkles, and I become naked.
The river
Where does it come from?
You, truly, where do you come from?
STANDING BY THE RIVER
The river is gently rippling and my heart is hot.
The light across the river comes across the water
The lights flutter over the water
The sound of a duck being paddled
My hot breath trembles slightly
A sky without stars is dark
If I’m buried in the dark and can’t find you
Should I just listen to the sound of water ducks alone?
By loving you
I am the happiest in the world
Standing on the edge of a deep dark river
A stream of water flowing deep into a river
My head is filled with your breath
If you leave behind regrets rather than approach me
with a passionate kiss, will you remain as a blue bird
that I will never be able to catch?
Even if you fly to a faraway place that cannot be caught
Like a dream, you can’t go after you erase my memory
Even if the marks left remain over time
I won’t let you go
The wind sweeps the river and comes to me
standing by the river
I flow to you endlessly.
Prepared Angela Kosta Academic, journalist, writer, poet, essayist, literary critic, editor, translator.