[One Thousand Characters a Day] William Cooper's Sung 'Winter Walk at Noon'

Editor's NoteWilliam Cowper, an 18th-century English poet, vividly and originally depicted rural daily life and landscapes, leading the contemporary trend of nature poetry. Among the six poems in his representative long poem collection (1785), the last piece, , seems to show the poet himself reaching meditation through a walk. It describes the joy of naturally immersing oneself in the emotions that arise while seeing and hearing the nature encountered in the forest. According to Cowper, a walk is "a time when a warm heart gives truly useful lessons to a cool head." Excerpted from , translated by Yoon Gyo-chan and Jo Ae-ri. Word count: 1014.

Without any disturbance, wherever the sun may be positioned,
I stroll through the forest. Neither fog, frozen skies, nor scorching heat can stop me,
and no one interferes with my pleasure.
Spring returns, calling out the rarely venturing villagers with their playful children,
to gather wild greens in the yellow fields,
decorate their heads with daisy flowers, and pick vegetables by the stream?
the most playful season of the year?
yet this shaded place remains entirely my own space.
Even the timid mountain hares, familiar with frequent visitors here,
show no fear and do not avoid me.
The pink-breasted pigeons perched on pine branches
sing endless love songs even as I approach.
A squirrel, called out from a deeply hollowed elm tree shelter, perhaps due to age or wounds,
spends winter in a nest woven from feathers and leaves,
then briefly plays and basks in the warm sunlight.
The swift and lively squirrel, while playing tricks, notices me and
quickly climbs the nearby beech tree like a bird.
It shakes its tail, pricks up its ears,
pretends to be startled, feigns anger, stamps its feet, and cries loudly.

Those who cannot rejoice at seeing animals enjoying life,
and do not realize that the happy appearance of beasts
raises my own happiness,
lack empathy, are insensitive to love and friendship,
and with their inherently cold hearts, cannot mingle with friends.
A fawn runs across the forest clearing,
not chased by anyone, simply joyful and ecstatic.
A horse gallops wildly across the wide meadow,
then stops, panting and pawing the ground,
soon ready to run again.
Cows running at midday,
when one starts dancing at noon,
all respond to the joyful call and begin to dance.
It is eccentric, strange, even bizarre, but
they all express an irresistible ecstasy through cries and movements with one heart.
Kind nature bestows blessings on thousands of scenes of delight.
How could cruel humans dare to break such natural designs?
These scenes of ecstasy offer those full of compassion, who wish to fully enjoy joy,
a happiness more precious than anything else,
and comfort with fitting delight.

- , compiled by Suzy Cripps, translated by Yoon Gyo-chan and Jo Ae-ri, Influential, 16,800 KRW

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.