2 Translated Kim Yideum Poems

By and | 1 February 2018

Alone in the Night Alley

I was walking towards the night. In the long, narrow, dark alley, there was an entanglement of two persons. I couldn’t tell if it was a hug or a clinch. There was no way around them. I removed my earphones and killed my footstep. One person started crying with her elbow against the wall. Don’t you think you crossed the line? Let’s ask who is being reasonable, you or me, the other person yelled. As they looked around, I was the only passerby. I got nervous. I ducked my head and waited. I guess I’ll be the one who makes a big decision for their lives here, right at this moment. One-two punch, the boxing gloves of each second punched my heart. I thought of that night when I read your letter under the streetlamp. The moon and the sea are far apart, but … you wrote me. We never reconnected, however. The young lovers approached me, and then walked past, while their shadows shed behind them. Hello, I’m inevitably human too, you guys are crossing the line. Watching them disappear at the end of the alley, I was lonely, as lonely as god.


밤의 거리에서 혼자

밤을 향해 가고 있었다 길고 좁고 어두운 길에 사람이 엉켜 있었다 포옹인지 클린치인지 알 수 없었다 둘러 갈 길 없었다 나는 이어폰 빼고 발소리를 죽였다 팔꿈치를 벽에 대고 한 사람이 울기 시작했다 야 너무하잖아 지나가는 사람 붙잡고 물어보자 누구 말이 맞는지 가려보자며 다른 사람이 소리쳤다 멈칫 둘러보니 행인이라곤 나밖에 없었다 난 긴장하며 고개 숙여 기다렸다 이 순간 내가 저들의 생에 중대한 판단을 내려야 하나 보다 원투 스트레이트 촌각의 글러브가 심장을 쳤다 가로등 밑에서 편지를 읽던 밤이 떠올랐다 달은 바다와 멀리 떨어져 있지만 그렇게 씌여 있던 우린 이어지지 않았다 그 젊은 연인들은 나에게 접근하다가 둘의 그림자만 거죽처럼 흘리고 갔다 얘들아 나도 불가피하게 사람인데 너무한 거 아니니 그들이 사라져 간 골목 끝에서 나는 신보다 고독했다

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