Translated by Chae-Pyong Song and Anne Rashid

Painted by Kang Jang-won

A Winter Diary by Moon Jung-hee

I have spent this winter lying down.
I have lost my loved one–
the monologues have ended
that I rolled, shiny like a rosary;
the wind has stopped,
and I have spent this winter comfortably, lying down.

Even when the naked trees in that field cry because they are cold,
even when they become a forest, leaning on one another–
having nothing to do with them, I never bothered to open the door even once;
like a ruminant, I took out only death to chew.

I spent this winter
comfortably, lying down
when I lost my loved one.

겨울 일기 / 문정희

나는 이 겨울을 누워 지냈다.
사랑하는 사람을 잃어버려
염주처럼 윤나게 굴리던
독백도 끝이 나고
바람도 불지 않아
이 겨울 누워서 편히 지냈다.

저 들에선 벌거벗은 나무들이 추워 울어도
서로 서로 기대어 숲이 되어도
나는 무관해서 문 한번 열지 않고
반추동물처럼 죽음만 꺼내 씹었다.

나는 누워서 편히 지냈다.
사랑하는 사람을 잃어버린
이 겨울.

(Originally published in The Gwangju News, January, 2012)

Mun Jung-hee (1947- ) was born in Bosung, Jeollanam-do. She received her Ph.D. from Seoul Women’s University. She made her literary debut in 1969 in The Literature Monthly. Her poetry collections include The Baby Brier, For Men, Now Following the Rose, I am the Door, The Joy of Love, and The Prolific Virgin. She received such prestigious awards as the Modern Literature Award and the Sowol Poetry Award.