A Drought By Lee Hyang Ji
Translated by Rodney E. Tyson & Hong Eun-Taek
Poem Gate. January 15, 2002.
As soon as the water runs out, the corpses
That were crouching under the water awakenHills that were fields
Slopes that were rice paddies, stream banks that were paths
Gudeuljang* that people carried on their backs
Earthenware jars that couldn't leave as their sides were broken
Forgotten hoes left hanging from tree branchesHow can I leave? What if you dont go?
Give me more! Enough, you! Sounds of quarreling
Moo, bow-wow, cock-a-doodle-do, oink-oink
Sounds of power cultivators leaving
Slanting telephone poles like old people going to borrow water pumpsWith a pallid, unseemly appearance, they open their graves and come out
Please give me water!Please give me water!
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*gudeuljang: pieces of flat stone placed over the underfloor heating system in Korean buildings.
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