A Reed Doesn't Break a Reed By Lee Hyang Ji
Translated by Rodney E. Tyson & Hong Eun-Taek
Poem Gate. October 26, 2001.
Even though they are bent and stand at the edge of the wind
Things that stand of their own volition are beautiful for just that reason.
A reed doesn't block the wind.
When my road reaches the sorrow of the outer edges
Which is chafed and broken by someone's sleeve
A winter reed doesn't stand as a flower.
When meeting rays of light even in dust a reed would melt its own rays
And transmit the yellow-green forces of uprising into the roots of the winter reed,
Even though it stands in an icy snow pit,
A reed doesn't break a reed.
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