White
I don’t want to be named.
There’s only one heart, but
My face is white as snow and
Numerous as snowflakes.
I can’t take off the black wig, and
Don’t become transparent
Even when I put the transparent slippers on.
I’m a bit different each time from yesterday.
I hear myself breathing like water.
I sink into thoughts I don’t want, and
Today keeps coming to an end.
Cold.
By Shin Hae-Wook
Translated, from the Korean, by Nancy Yeon-Joo Kim
Nancy Yeon-Joo Kim will graduate this year with a BA in Literary Translation from Swarthmore College. She has published a few articles, but this is the first time that her translated work has been printed. She aspires to translate Korean literature to make it well-known internationally.
Shin Hae-Wook (b.1974) is a Korean poet who has also published a collection of essays. She was voted the Young Poet of the Year in 2010 by her colleagues.