Poems of Poetess Ms. Yang Geum-Hee (South Korea)

Poetess Ms. Yang Geum-Hee was born in 1967 in Jeju, Korea. She has published two poetry collections, "Happiness Account" and "Ieodo, Island of Legend and Existence," as well as one collection of essays titled "Happy Companion." She was the first president of the Ieodo Literature Association, the editor-in-chief of Jejuin News, and worked as a research fellow at the Society of Ieodo Research. She served as a researcher at the Jeju Sea Grant Center at Jeju National University and as a specially appointed professor at Jeju International University.
Currently, she is an editorial writer for the New Jeju Ilbo, a special researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences of Jeju National University, vice-president of the Jeju Regional Committee of the Korean PEN Center, an executive of the Jeju Institute for Korean Unification, and an executive of the Korean Association of Ethics. She is also the president of the Korean Associations of World Literature. She has won eight literary awards.
Her poetry has been translated into various languages and introduced in the United States, China, Japan, Germany, Russia, Italy, Spain, England, Taiwan, Nepal, Egypt, Greece, Pakistan, Vietnam, Albania, Bangladesh, Kosovo, Tajikistan, and more.


A River, It Is

Our memories
Were a river
Sadness passing by
Pain flowing away
Joy streaming along
A river, it is

If our sadness
Our pain
And even our joy
Piled up like fallen leaves in a lake,
The clear water would decay

Water flows
Purifying old emotions
Brushing past fallen leaves and branches
A clear heart following the water’s path

Somewhere, my river
That has flowed like this
And your river will someday
Form a great river

To let the upright belief flow clear,
We must open the waterway
So that a pure river can flow


Nests of Birds

 
Birds do not build their homes

For themselves, 

But for their young ones

They build nests in bushes or tree holes

And share warmth with each other

 

With that strength,

They become the wind,

They become the clouds,

To open their way to the sky

 

Knowing their destiny is to fly high,

Birds do not build nests to stay.

 



The wind doesn't ask the way

 

No matter how much time goes by,

Wind never getting older

Even thoughWinddoesn’t have a mouth

Wind always say something What have to say

Even though Wind doesn’t have eyes

Never lose her direction

 

When Wind face an angular face,

Wind alwaysblowing somewhere else,

Without scratching or hurting

Wind Never stay,

Even though face soft face

 

When can I run on the crooked road on the earth,

Without asking for directions

 


Under the City Moonlight

 
As the city lights grow brighter,

The moonlight and starlight fade, yet

I know, the moonlight always touches my shoulder.

 

Even in the darkest night,

Without getting lost,

I never lose my direction.

 

Hard iron undergoes quenching.

After the storm, the sky turns a bright blue.

Only those who have sailed the sea of patience

Can reach the beautiful land.

 

Calm and unchanging at every turn in life,

The moon is always there to hold my shoulders and lift me up

The moon, a gift-like presence, is always there.

 

Because you shined on me,

My soul was never dark.

Even if I fell, I was able to stand and walk again.

 


Essay on soil

 
Soil is the mother of all living things

Giving a Belly to bear seeds

Giving warm hugs for raise

Giving fond look to the tender buds

Hold trees which is swaying in the wind

Permit its root deep into her flesh

Regardless of grains and weeds,

Treat them without discrimination

Ants and elephants,

Neither the wicked nor the good,

All step on earth’s back and walk a long way

 

Peace and rage, war and love

All equal on the ground

All beings

Crumble on the soil

When all things turn to dust and lie down

Earth Hug warmly and tightly