[Afternoon Poem] Ready-Made / Seong Da-yeong

Is the beginning of the Earth spring or autumn?

A dog and I take a walk in the neighborhood

An old man comes out of the gate and speaks

Why do you let dogs walk on paths meant for people?

A dog and I take a walk in the park

The dog likes places with soil and grass; the park is such a place

This is a lawn protection zone, you must not enter

A couple sitting on a bench watches a person pulling the dog's leash tightly

What are they protecting the lawn from?

People?

Why protect the lawn?

For people who come to the park to sit?

The lawn is protected from people for people

Today, I decide to stop watching

I cross the line

The present is unethical

You must not enter there

The person who says that is an ordinary person passing through the park

Following the law is easy

The shadow cannot be confined

God has no order

I laugh first and grieve first

I oppose order

I begin to pray in a dark prayer room

Individual desires are not answered even if prayed for

The end of altruism is suicide

I cannot understand myself, please forgive me

Just as writing according to the flow of consciousness is a literary technique

Simply living is also a way

The cherry bursts

Something is born somewhere

■ Well, it is indeed a bit strange. The 'lawn protection zone' is, of course, a place designated to protect the lawn. Then, what is the lawn being protected from? People? Dogs? Or weeds? As the poet wrote, the 'lawn protection zone' is especially set to protect the lawn from people. For the sake of people. But if you think about it, such contradictions can be encountered everywhere in our world. Places where laws, rules, conventions, and common sense operate are generally like that. However, laws and such are all culture. Culture is an artificial imposition on nature. Culture is a device that makes a humane life possible, but it is never intrinsic, and therefore it can be uncomfortable and unfair to someone. For example, there was a time when we lived considering patriarchy as natural. - Poet Chaesangwoo

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