[Afternoon Poem] The Person I Met on the Night Train / Gwak Hyohwan

The Last Train on the Jeolla Line to Yeosu

The night train before midnight feels gloomy

Passing by the sparsely seated passengers to find a seat

Brushing up my tangled hair and exhaling deeply

Following the rhythm of clattering and swaying at regular intervals

Lights flow past outside the window

Crossing the river and running for a long time, the night views continue endlessly,

There is no gap

Suddenly, outside the window

A face that seems familiar yet strange

Is quietly looking at me

I to him

He to me

It seems like there is something to say

Something about to be asked

But there are no words

In the distant past as far away as the flowing lights

Looking for someone

There is none

Neither I, nor he, nor anyone

Suddenly, I want to run at Daejeon Station and eat hot udon soup

Like in the old days

■ In this poem, the 'he' who "quietly looks at me" and the "face that seems familiar yet strange" is undoubtedly 'me' myself. So it can be said that there are three 'me's in this poem. Although somewhat blurry, there is the present 'me' reflected in the dark train window, 'he'; the 'me' who finds 'he' unfamiliar; and finally, the 'me' who is 'someone' neither 'me' nor 'he' somewhere in the "distant past as far away as the flowing lights." This poem, of course, leans toward the 'someone' from the "old days" when "running at Daejeon Station and eating hot udon soup." Why wouldn't it? But the interesting fact is that the current 'me' finds himself unfamiliar. Probably the self that is old, tired, and worn out by the hardships of life. And this is what most of us feel. In short, strangely, the other of the present 'me' is oneself. ? Poet Chaesangwoo

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