Translated by Chae-Pyong and Darcy Brandel

Photography by Barami

Two Stillborn Hearts by Hwang Byeong-seung

Like a clown driven into this earth upside down
Twelve years old with too many sweets
Two feet walk on the empty air continuously

Time, like a petty thief, dies in darkness
Little by little, hiccupping
Sparrows enjoy it

Till the thirty-six year old devil approaches and points at me
(hiccupping)

Till the devil holding a black knife strikes down the twelve-year-old’s neck

Like a clown who shivers in anxiety
(hiccupping, hiccupping)

The child of this earth, whether alive or dead, I don’t know!

Twelve years driven into this earth,

 The cicada within my ear cannot sleep.

(Originally published in Azalea: Journal of Korean Literature and Culture, Volume 5 [2012])

Hwang Byung-seung was born in Seoul in 1970. He debuted in 2003 by publishing five poems including “Primary Doctor h” in Para 21. He has published two poetry collections: Sikoku, The Man Dressed as Woman and Track and the Star of the Field.