InsaneJournal

National Poetry Month
Instead of a Dream
by Ch'oe Sûngja

Instead of a dream we want a definite hand.
Definite, materialistic hand.

In the justice of Arabia--the sword!
In the justice of America--the gun!
In the justice of Korea--a drink! Dri-nk?

But certainty is only our half-sleep and half awareness,
in fog as taut as metal wire
dead helicopters float and
even if political power has changed
we no longer sing inside the grave.
Unexpected letters come from a faraway country,
and we return them unread.
Late at night we close the history book,
worrying about sleep, and
suddenly someone stomps his feet
inside the closed book, and
we fall asleep chanting a spell:

My lord, if you can,
pour this cup
down your throat.


Translated from Korean by Mickey Hong

This entry was originally posted at http://veleda-k.dreamwidth.org/277271.html. Please consider commenting there.