Time walks out the gate with its hat pulled down
December 7th, 2013 by Staff
It Sits Astride the Branch of a Tree, Costa Rica, 2012
by Chunhak Kwon
Translated by Hana Kim
Every spring
time walks out the gate
with its hat pulled down low
It sits astride the branch of a tree
and plops down on a stack of leaves
The sun’s flesh tangles up in its eyelashes
after such a long time it makes this promenade dazzling
A herd of times dammed up in a puddle
they wind a spring tightly
and shoot arrows of light
Every time they penetrate the shadows
times, hung on the branches of a tree, flutter
and the leaves which have plopped down stand up
tic-toc tic-toc tic-tic toc-toc tic-toc………
and start to polish the second hand with a sound of bursting buds
The promenader coming back with its hat in hands
it sits in a chair of insomnia
and drinks the juice of time in a stolen golden glass
Spring and night
모자를 눌러 쓴 시간이 대문 밖으로 걸어나간다
권천학
봄이면
모자를 깊이 눌러 쓴 시간이
대문 밖으로 걸어나간다
나뭇가지에도 걸터앉고
풀잎더미 위에도 주저앉는다
속눈썹에 엉겨붙은 해의 살들이
오랜만의 외출을 눈부시게 한다
웅덩이에 고여있는 한 떼의 시간들이
태엽을 탱탱하게 조여 감아서
쏘아대는 빛화살
그늘 속을 관통할 때마다
나뭇가지에 걸려있는 시간들이 푸득거렸고
주저앉아 있던 풀잎들도 일어나
재깍초깍재깍초깍재깍재깍초깍초깍재깍초깍
………
싹트는 소리로 초침을 닦기 시작한다
모자를 벗어들고 돌아온 외출이
불면의 의자에 앉아
훔쳐온 황금 잔에 시간의 즙을 따라 마시는
봄 그리고 밤
Raised in South Korea, poet, essayist and writer Chunhak Kwon (Cheonhak Kwon) studied at the Graduate School of Korea University. Now she resides in Toronto. She made her literary debut in the monthly Hyundai Munhak. Also, she was a columnist for Seoul Newspaper and Kwanak Munhwa Newspaper. Chunhak has published over 10 books, including “Dictionary of Korean Proverb and Quotation”, “The Sky in Bronze Mirror” (poems about the ancient Korean Kingdom of Baekje), “I am Still in an Apple Seed” (poems about trees), “Gaea Being Ill in Bed” (poems about the environment), “Loneliness Virus”, and “The Sorrow of Grass-green Vitamin, Or” (poems about seas/oceans). She has also been the recipient of many awards including the Modern Buddhism Literary Award (first prize), the Si wa Ŭisik Literature Award and the Kyung Hee University Overseas Korean Literary Award (Grand Prize). She served as Editor-in-chief of Blue Note, a web magazine of the Korean Literature Library. The translation of her poems was published in a book entitled, “2H2 + O2 = 2H2O” which was the winner of the First Annual Min Chapbook Competition organized by Harvard University’s Korea Institute and Tamal Vista Publications. Her poems and essays are regularly featured in Toronto Korean-language newspapers.