A Collection of Poems, with love

Departure (Yun) - 10/7/2024, drawn on iPad with Procreate

It is NOT an understatement to say that the trip I went to the artist town in Richelieu, France and my 11th grade higher level literature class has pushed me to write a lot, not just in essays but through other forms as well. The trip enhanced my appreciation of nature, of beauty, and of art, and reintroduced me to a love for writing (and reading), and my class has been wonderful in that it has prompted me to read and analyse so much.

Especially since I've been writing my own story, Euryclade, for almost four years now -- this reintroduced passion for writing has developed a new medium in which I can explore my thoughts and narratives. Here's a collection of some of the poems I wrote, some in Korean and some in English, usually thinking about love and relationships within Euryclade. Enjoy!

그대의 바람과 삶에게 바치는

“너는 어떤 인생을 살고 싶어?”

당신은 어린 나에게 물었지.

멋 모르게 우리의 정원에서 하늘을 꿈꾸며 대화하던 때에. 

한참을 꽃과 바다와 구름에 대해 떠들던 내가 당신에게 같은 질문을 던지면,

당신은 늘,

“나는 아름답고 찬란하게 살고 싶어”

라고 답했었나.

미래에 대한 확신이 없던 우리에겐 

닿는것조차 허락되지 않던 당신의 소박한 바람.

말로 담기도 아픈 소원을 비는 당신의 모습은 그것만으로도 너무나 아름다웠어.

시간이 얼마나 지나도,

그 시간속에 당신이 얼마나 닳고, 길을 잃고, 방황해도.

그 소망만은 절대 변하지 않기를.

나에게도 언젠가 이루어질 그 기도에 포함되어 살아갈 기회가 오기를.

그리고,

언젠가 우리가 이별할때.

가슴 깊이 간직했던 우리의 관계가 드디어 끝을 맞을때.

내가 사랑하는 그대가 죽음으로 마지막 한 발을 내딛을때.

우리의 정원과 하늘,

나의 꽃, 바다와 구름, 

그리고 그대의 이루어졌을 어린날의 바람을 추억하며,

당신의 아름답고 찬란했을 인생이 그에게 걸맞은 마침표를 찍기를.

A tribute to your dream - v2.0

“What kind of life do you want to lead?”

You asked to me, still a chrysalis, no more than a child,

In our garden as we dreamed of the sky, clueless as we were.

I dragged you along my journey through flowers, the ocean and the clouds,And finally, when your question was reflected to you,

Much like how the clouds are reflected in the transparent sea,

Without fail, did you always respond,

“I want to live a radiant, beautiful life”?

To us, whom had no certainty of the future, 

Even your meager wish was an unreachable prospect.

You were already so beautiful

As you carefully let your hopes leak into the world,

Vocalizing wishful words that hurt to wonder.

No matter how much time passes,

No matter how much you falter and lead yourself astray,

If your aspiration remains constant,

I’ll wish to be there

There within your painting of what lays ahead

And,

The day we part,

When we untie the knot entangling our paths together.

As you, whom I deeply love, 

Take one last humming breath.

Reminiscing our garden, the skies we shared, 

My flowers, the ocean and the clouds,

And your childhood dream that must have come true,

I hope your radiant and beautiful life

Meets the poetic end it deserves. 

여름을 끝맺는 것

단풍잎이

이별의 날

뺨에 눈물이 흐르듯이

하늘에서 쏟아져 내린다

영원과도 같던

그 타오르던 여름을 뒤로하고

마침표를 찍는 마지막 불씨가

바람에 휘날리다 네 발 밑에 자리한다

소망은 바람을 타고

너는 기억하지 못하는 아득한 옛날

내 손가락 하나도 채 잡지 못하던

그 작은 손이 

내가 받았던 그 어떤 사랑보다

더 눈물나도록 아름다워서

네가, 자라고 있는 그 사랑스러운 아이가 

낮잠을 잘때 햇빛이 얼굴에 드리우면

시고 쓴 과일을 한입 베어 문 듯

잔뜩 찡그리던 미간이 

세상에서 가장 소중한 것이 되어서

별들이 숨을 참고 하늘 위에 조심스럽게 뛰놀던 때

네 눈꺼풀 속 세상이 살포시 검정색으로 물들여지고

나도 너를 한 웅큼 안고 잠들어가고 있을때

달님조차도 듣지 못하게 속삭였던 말이 있었어

산들거리는 바람이 창틀을 넘어

나의 머리카락 사이로, 손틈 사이로

네 얕은 숨을 타, 네 품 안으로

네 마음이 잔잔한 파도와도 같아지도록

소망은 바람을 타고

네 가슴 속 깊이 자리하도록

Like a rose

You were nothing like a rose

The way you held up your head, cheerful, not regal

Those unmistakable thorns nowhere to be found

The dancing warmth in your gaze far from crimson

You were nothing like a rose

A ray of sun would suit you better

Maybe the resilient dandelion, 

Or the simple daisy

But no, never would I say

You were anything like a rose

But what better flower to describe my love for you?

Though the velvet petals fluttered all to the ground

Though my hands bled from the painful grasp,

My desire was insatiable, your beauty was unrelenting

My love was not unlike a rose

I watched as you shriveled and wilted

But what more could I have done?

I came to your doorstep with a bouquet of roses

Hoping they would sooth your spirit

But your eyes reflected nothing, nothing like a rose

Now, I tread along the path of your departure

I had bought a bouquet of roses again

To celebrate our love

But was this love ever ours? 

Were those roses ever yours?

You were nothing like a rose

Even when you were lying 

On the pile of them I had brought

Smiling through the insufferable perfume

You were nothing like a rose