Amid the forest of buildings,

There once stood a tree

Green through every season,

Casting wide shade.

Ms. Yang Geum-Hee, an acclaimed poetess from Korea, shares her poem

Poetess Ms. Yang Geum-Hee, born in 1967 in Jeju, Korea, has published four poetry collections and received eight literary awards in recognition of her contributions to literature. Her poetry collections include Happiness Account, Ieodo: The Island of Legend and Reality, Nests of Birds (published in Taiwan), and Nests of Birds (a bilingual English-Korean edition). In addition, she has authored a research book titled Inheritance of Ieodo Culture and an essay collection titled A Happy Companion on the Journey. In acknowledgment of her extensive contributions to international literature, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the International Forum for Creativity and Humanity (President Dr. Aziz Mountassir) in the Kingdom of Morocco in March 2025. Poet Ms. Yang was the founding President of the Ieodo Literature Association, Editor-in-Chief of Jejuin News, a researcher at the Jeju Sea Grant Center, a specially appointed professor at Jeju International University, and the second President of the Korean Association of World Literature. She currently serves as an editorial writer for Samda Ilbo, President of Jeju PEN, and Vice President of the Korean Peace Cooperation. Her poetry has been translated into multiple languages and introduced in countries including the United States, China, Japan, Germany, Russia, Italy, Spain, England, Taiwan, Nepal, Egypt, Greece, Pakistan, Vietnam, Albania, Bangladesh, Kosovo, Tajikistan, Belgium, and beyond.

The Absence of a Tree

Amid the forest of buildings,

There once stood a tree

Green through every season,

Casting wide shade.

It was a resting place for the wind,

A playground for birds,

And sometimes,

It was my own comforting shade.

Beneath that shade,

People, birds,

And even the breeze

Would bask in quiet happiness.

But one summer day,

A man stood where the tree once was,

His face tightly furrowed.

Only then did I realize

The absence of the tree

Whose name I never even knew.

The singing birds had disappeared,

The resting wind no longer came.

The shelter was gone,

The playground was gone,

And my shade was gone.

Only the man remained,

Facing the scorching sunlight,

His face clenched,

Gazing into the silence

Where the tree had once stood.

***

나무의 부재

빌딩 숲 사이,

사계절 푸르름을 잃지 않던

그 나무가 있었다.

바람의 쉼터였고,

새들의 놀이터였고,

어느 날은 내 그림자가 쉬던 그늘이었다.

그 그늘 아래서

사람도, 새도, 바람도

잠시 행복에 젖곤 했다.

그러던 어느 여름날,

찡그린 얼굴의 남자가

나무가 있던 자리 앞에 멈춰 섰다.

그제야 알게 되었다.

이름조차 몰랐던 나무의 부재를.

언제부터 인가

노래하던 새들은 날아가고

쉬어 가던 바람도 머물지 않았다.

쉼터는 사라지고,

놀이터는 사라지고,

나의 그늘도 사라진 자리에

뜨거운 햇살만이 내리쬐고 있었다.

남자는 그 자리에 서 있었다.

얼굴을 찡그린 채,

이제는 없어진 나무를 향해

고요한 부재를 바라보며.