Suddenly I discover more beard has grown,
though it adds nothing to my six-foot frame.
My face in the mirror changes as the years go by,
but my heart remains as innocent as a year ago.
translated by Kim Jong-gil
Author: zdunno03
An Incidental Poem by Song Han-pil
Flowers opened in the rain yesterday
and fell in the wind this morning.
What a pity that spring
should come and go in rain and wind!
translated by Kim Jong-Gil
these days
the heart sinks under memories
of other days
and I get to thinking
which is not necessarily a good thing
about those faces I see in the dark
try to remember names
personality quirks
the smell of a wet field
the sun breaking through the clouds
for instance
a dog gingerly picks his way along a beach
there are shells everywhere
and is it Gene or David
who stoops to pick one up
grinning
the dog looks up expecting a game
and that long haired woman with the green eyes
who will break my heart
in ways, at times
too numerous to mention
will make the world stop
and time
here in Istanbul
moves forward
just the way it’s supposed to
dragging my mind along
hesitantly
but gently
to where it needs to go
On A Rainy Autumn Night by Ch’oe Ch’i Won
I sing a bitter song on the autumn wind,
with very few who really appreciate it.
Outside the world drips midnight rain:
under the lamplight, my thoughts drift far away.
translated by Kim Jong-Gil
A Dream by Yi Yang-yon
The way home is a thousand miles;
an autumn night is even longer.
Ten times already I have been home,
but the cock has not yet crowed.
translated by Kim Jong-gil
running with the bad boys
there are moments
when the past comes crashing
through the door
like some unruly relative
demanding attention
there are people I’d like to forget
but their ghosts refuse to listen
and they pop up in conversation
some trigger evoking them
collars turned up
cigarettes dangling from lips
hot stuff devils on biceps
eyes hooded, suspicious
they were not good boys
doing things not accepted
by codes other than their own
there is remorse in my heart
for deeds done, witnessed
scars that have faded in time
but still pencil thin lines remain
in places that substitute for a soul
some day atonement beyond what was given
will be expected
and all the good will be stacked up
against the bad
they understood this
did not care one way or the other
not believing in anything beyond the hell
they suffered through
and though there is no pity in my heart
there is understanding
and if it turns out
I stand beside them once again
I will not flinch
when the whip comes down
tough is what you can take
Kevin said once
not what you can give
a lesson I learned years ago
on asphalt pavement
on barroom floors
In My Study by Yun Son-do
My eyes fixed on the mountains and my ears on the lute,
how could the affairs of the world ever disturb my mind?
Though nobody knows, I am full of lively spirits,
wildly I sing out a song, and then intone it alone.
translayed by Kim Jong-Gil
Boating at Dusk by Song Ik-pil
Lost among flowers, the boat returns late;
expecting the moon, it drifts slowly down the shoals.
Though I’m drunk, I still drop a line:
the boat moves on, but not my dream.
translated by Kim Jong-Gil
rebel, rebel: a tanka for NB
a rebel, rebel
intent on changing her world
one day at a time
too sensitive for the fight
but with tears she will endure
night: for Frank
he tries not to drink
but those shadows will haunt him
and the glass refills
ice bumping shoulders again
the night never seems to end
Leonard Durso 