Chair with No Back

By Lee Seung Hoon
 

Translated by Rodney E. Tyson & Hong Eun-Taek

The Quarterly Review: Poetry & Criticism, 3(1), 219-220. Spring 2000.

---

I sit on a chair with no back and the time
I wait exceeds 300 years. Now I've become
exhausted. Why is there still no word? Although
I ask the gatekeeper there is no answer. The winter
evening's sun sets. Snow falls. In front of the gate
a small lamp hangs. I sit in front of the gate
and get snowed on. I sit on the chair
with no back and again ask the gatekeeper.
Why is there still no word? That's just
something you wish for! The gatekeeper answers.
I sit in front of the gate and 300 years pass by.

---

The Quarterly Review: Poetry & Criticism | Curriculum Vitae