Poem - Berber Old Man, Poet - Dr. Kang, Byeong-Cheol ( South Korea)

 

Berber Old Man

Dr. Kang, Byeong-Cheol 

Before me, an old man suddenly appeared

In a valley of Morocco

He wrapped a blue turban around my head

Like an old friend

As I wore the blue turban

I became a Berber

I pondered,

What does this blue symbolize?

The old man smiled at me!

The blue turban is a symbol like a spell that opens my soul

My burning lips felt as if they had drunk the elixir of love

Like the wind blowing through the leaves

My honey-like curiosity flew towards the Berber!

Like an arrow

Biography:

Poet Dr. Kang, Byeong-Cheol is a Korean author and poet, born in Jeju City, South Korea, in 1964. He began writing in 1993, publishing his first short story, “Song of Shuba,” at the age of twenty-nine. He released a collection of short stories in 2005 and has since won four literature awards and published more than eight books. From 2009 to 2014, he served as a member of The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN International. Additionally, he worked as an editorial writer for NewJejuIlbo, a newspaper in Jeju City, Korea. He holds a PhD in Political Science and currently serves as the Vice President of The Korean Institute for Peace and Cooperation. Moreover, he holds the position of founding President of the Korean Association of World Literature.