[A Sip of Poetry] The Comfort of Transcription... Writing 'Longing, Love, and Rest'

Editor's NoteSome sentences encapsulate the entire content of a book, while others instantly resonate with the reader, creating a point of connection with the work. Here, we introduce such meaningful lines carefully selected from books.

This is a poetry collection well-suited for transcription, ideal for soothing a roughened heart. Notable lines from the Changbi Poetry Series were personally selected by poets themselves. Eighteen poets, including Hwang Inchan, Do Jonghwan, and Kim Yongtaek, participated in the project. The anthology is organized into ten sections, systematically classifying 100 lines of poetry tailored to a range of emotions such as longing, love, rest, and comfort. The collection brings together works by masters who represent the Korean poetry scene-such as the late Shin Kyungrim, Kim Yongtaek, Jung Hoseung, Do Jonghwan, Ahn Dohyun, Na Heeduk, and Jin Eunyoung-as well as pieces by recently acclaimed poets like Lee Jangwook, Lee Byungryul, Shin Yongmok, An Miok, An Heeyeon, and Hwang Inchan.

To think is to sit on an empty chair/to sit in the place where petals have left//To miss someone is to sit on an empty chair/to sit like a red petal, then leave it empty, unable to stay

-Moon Taejun, "Where the Flowers Have Fallen" (Full Text)

My hands were cold, so I slipped them into your pocket/snow was falling thick and fast/I put one of my hands in there/because your hand was in that dark place/I put one of my hands in there/that day, where did we walk to?//Because of our pounding hands, we kept walking and walking/white snow was falling, sunlight was bright/we lost our way in a strange place/led by hands that had become hearts/we walked on and on, without stopping-where did we go?

-Kang Sungeun, "A Walk in the Black Pocket" (Excerpt)

Last summer, looking at footprints scattered on the beach, I recalled memories of joyful dancing and love from the previous night/but now, lying in a narrow bed with my shoulders hunched//I only give a gentle push to the person sleeping beside me//They don't budge; I guess I can't fall asleep like this//Whatever the case//Birdsong drifts in/It's morning/Outside the window, a faint light is coming in again

-Hwang Inchan, "This Is My Best, That Is My Worst" (Excerpt)

When you mentioned that you still found yourself difficult/I asked if there had ever been a time when things weren't hard for us/In days when love gave us no strength/while sad clowns tore through the long, dark corridor/falling from the railing, scattering into bits of flesh/Yet, strangely/you were the one I quietly leaned on, slipping my hand into yours

-Joo Harim, "Farewell" (Excerpt)

This pain that came suddenly/I suppose I must hold it for a long time/keep it in my pocket until it feels familiar in my hand//Until its sharp corners wear away/Until it claims a place within my heart/I suppose I must refine this sorrow for a long time//Isn't it so?/The things that made us struggle/The things that drained our strength/Haven't they, before we knew it, become our strength?

-Lee Moonjae, "Grief Long Held" (Excerpt)

Transcribing My Heart with Poetry | Hwang Inchan and 17 Others | Changbi | 256 pages | 20,000 KRW

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