Translated by Chae-Pyong Song and Darcy L. Brandel

Photography by Lee Sang-youp

A Child by Choe Seung-ja

A child is running by.

A sky forever colored gray

Someone crossing the sea
halfheartedly

A century laughing carelessly

한 아이가

한 아이가 뛰어간다

하늘은 늘 회색이었다

건성건성 누군가
바다를 건너고 있었다

한 세기가 무심코 웃고 있었다

Choe Seung-ja (1952- ) was born in Yongi, Chungcheongnam-do. She studied German literature at Korea University. Her poetry collections include Love in This Age, A Pleasant Diary, The House of Memory, My Grave—Green, Lovers, and Forlorn and Faraway. Often employing extreme, radical language and imagery, she writes to resist social discrimination, especially patriarchy.