The wind I once knew

Childhood’s breeze I met again

In my hometown

Would come to me gently

Whenever I wandered alone.

Ms. Yoo Dong Ae, a poetess from Korea, the Land of Morning Calm, shares her poem 

Poet Yoo Dong Ae was born in Namhae, Gyeongnam Province. She graduated from Jinju Girls’ High School, Jinju National Teachers’ College, and Hansung University with a degree in Korean Language and Literature. She retired after a long career as an elementary school teacher. She made her literary debut in 1992 in the poetry section of Munyesajo. She currently serves as Vice President of the Korean Association of World Literature. She has also served as the inaugural Secretary-General of the Gangdong Literary Association and as President of the Gurye Literary Association. Her poetry collections include With the Flowers That Bloom Within Me (2017, supported by the Jeonnam Cultural Foundation’s Literary Creation Grant), and Sunlight on Broken Porcelain (2019, also supported by the Jeonnam Cultural Foundation’s Literary Creation Grant). She has also contributed to the poetry anthology Water Dreams of the Sea.

Hometown Wind

The wind was blowing that day too.

Still, the mugwort rose in its own quiet way,

And the wild roses, true to themselves,

Pushed through the earth

And bloomed.

The wind I once knew

Childhood’s breeze I met again

In my hometown

Would come to me gently

Whenever I wandered alone

And met a path’s end

In the mountain’s hush.

With a rounded hush, a soft echo

It curved past stone walls,

Paused on the fence,

Wove through the branches,

Brushed the treetops

And gathered the scattered islands

Into its arms.

***

고향 바람

그날도 바람은 불었다

그래도 쑥은 쑥대로

찔레는 찔레대로

싹을 틔우고

꽃을 피웠더구나

고향에서 만난

어린 시절의 바람은

산길을 혼자 거닐 때

막다른 길에 다다를 때마다

둥근 울림으로

돌담을 돌아서 담장에 걸린 후

가지를 돌아

나무 끝을 어루며

점점이 섬들을 품는다