Translated by Chae-Pyong Song and Anne Rashid

The Moon’s Bare Foot by Moon In-soo

The Moon lingers for a long while,
and she, too, crosses the river again awkwardly
via the iron railway bridge.
Why are these shoes here?
Wearing the clouds, the Moon has been dark for a moment,
and is barefoot again.
Some woman’s feet—they stink.

달의맨발/문인수

달이 한참 뭉그적거리다가 저도 한강,
철교를 따라 어설프게 건너본다.
여기, 웬 운동화?
구름을 신고 잠깐 어두웠던 달, 다시 맨발이다.
어떤 여자의 발 고린내가 차다.

Moon In-soo (1945-) was born in Sungju, Gyeongsangbuk-do. He studied Korean literature at Dongkuk University in Seoul. He made his debut when he was forty two years old. He published such poetry collections as All the Roads In the World Lead To Home (1992), The Horn (1992), The Nesting Mountain (1999), Shhh! (2006), Umbilical Cord (2008) andThe Sound of Silence (2012). His prestigious literary awards include the Kim Dal-jin Literary Award (2000), the No Jak Literary Award (2003), and the Meedang Literary Award (2007).