I recently obtained a lovely book of poetry by the Korean author Lee Seong-bok!
Lee Seong-bok (2026) That Summer’s End. Translated into English by Anton Hur. Alfred & Knopf, New York.
It has been giving me such immense pleasure. I think this is the type of book that I want to carry with me always. I will share here the two poems that I keep going back to, and read over and over again.
This feels like a love-song for someone you can’t meet,
no matter how much you may want to!
Tears
“The tears that flow from your eyes are so transparent they show the color of your skin
They shine through your face, the inside of your body
They turn your whole body into a transparent water vessel in a peaceful tree
They flow in a place where every struggle, every clamor has ceased
They come from a country where every struggle, every clamor has calmed
They flow from a star thousands of light-years away
They have come from a star thousands of light-years away and have just now touched your eyes...
Like that glint of light that has just breathed its last, I melt inside your tears”
This small tome of poetry is full of beautiful emotions.
