G-NT3806KSJP

Calling Ghost





A shattered name
pulled apart in the air. A name
no one owns. A name I will
call till I die.

In the middle of my heart a word remains
I could not say in the end.
I loved someone once.
I loved someone once.

The red sun hangs above a western mountain peak.
A herd of deer weep their sorrows.
On this mountain that stands apart
from all else I call your name.

I call your name till it breaks my heart.
I call your name till it breaks my heart.
The sound from my call slants past,
There is too much between the sky and the earth.

Standing here I may turn into stone
but I will call your name till I die.
I loved you once.
I loved you once.







초혼



산산이 부서진 이름이어!
허공중에 헤어진 이름이어!
불러도 주인없는 이름이어!
부르다가 내가 죽을 이름이어!

심중(心中)에 남아있는 말 한마디는
끝끝내 마저하지 못하였구나.
사랑하던 그 사람이어!
사랑하던 그 사람이어!

붉은 해는 서산 마루에 걸리었다.
사슴이의 무리도 슬피 운다.
떨어져 나가앉은 산 위에서
나는 그대의 이름을 부르노라.

설움에 겹도록 부르노라.
설움에 겹도록 부르노라.
부르는 소리는 비껴가지만
하늘과 땅 사이가 너무 넓구나.

선 채로 이 자리에 돌이 되어도
부르다가 내가 죽을 이름이어!
사랑하던 그 사람이어!
사랑하던 그 사람이어!



Kim Sowol (1902-1934) was born in North Pyongan Province. In high school, he met his lifetime mentor, Kim Ok, a poet and translator who opened a new chapter in Korean poetry by translating European symbolist and imagist poetry into Korean. With Kim Ok’s help, Sowol was able to publish his first book of poetry, Jindallae Flower, in 1925. However, he was unable to find an audience for his poetry, nor was he able to find a way out of his extreme poverty. He is said to have died of a brain aneurysm while taking opium to treat his gout, though suspicions of suicide have lingered.

Jack Jung is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. His translations of Korean poet Yi Sang’s poetry and prose are published in Yi Sang: Selected Works by Wave Books. He is a Visiting Assistant Professor of English at Davidson College.