Translated by Chae-Pyong Song and Darcy L. Brandel

Photography by Lee Sang-youp

On a Faraway Sea by Choe Seung-ja

On a faraway sea
the moon wafts effortlessly

In the empty sky one quiet eye
watches the world

The beloved eye that Rumi wooed
(a mystic scene on the sea of time)

On a faraway sea
the moon wafts effortlessly

머나먼 바다 위에

머나먼 바다 위에
두둥실 달이 떠 있습니다

허공에는 세상을 바라보는
고요한 눈동자 하나가 있습니다

그것은 루미가 사랑했던 님의 눈동자입니다
(신비주의적 시간 바다 위의 풍경입니다)

머나먼 바다 위에
두둥실 달이 떠 있습니다

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.