Thoughts on the never-ending
I die every day in someone’s dream.
I am the fear of ice, melting in
Warm water.
A story that moves
Intricately like fish eggs.
I cannot name each and every one of
The things I love.
Changing faces time and again,
I reflect on
The time I inhabit and
The time that has escaped me.
Dreaming someone else’s dream,
Laughing someone else’s
Laughter.
I am an unfamiliar air or,
At times, the memory of the real thing.
I bleed, and I am
The grief of becoming human.
By Shin Hae-Wook
Translated, from the Korean, by Nancy Yeon-Joo Kim
Nancy Yeon-Joo Kim will graduate this year with a BA in Literary Translation from Swarthmore College. She has published a few articles, but this is the first time that her translated work has been printed. She aspires to translate Korean literature to make it well-known internationally.
Shin Hae-Wook (b.1974) is a Korean poet who has also published a collection of essays. She was voted the Young Poet of the Year in 2010 by her colleagues.