옥수수밭 옆에 당신을 묻고
도종환
견우 직녀도 이 날만은 만나게 하는 칠석날
나는 당신을 땅에 묻고 돌아오네.
안개꽃 몇 송이 땅에 묻고 돌아오네.
살아 평생 당신께 옷 한 벌 못 해 주고
당신 죽어 처음으로 베옷 한 벌 해 입혔네.
당신 손수 베틀로 짠 옷가지 몇 벌 이웃에 나눠주고
옥수수밭 옆에 당신을 붇고 돌아오네.
은하 건너 구름 건너 한 해 번 만나게 하는 밤
은핫물 동쪽 서쪽 그 멀고 먼 거리가
하늘과 땅의 거리인 걸 알게 하네.
당신 나중 흙 되고 내가 훗날 바람 되어
다시 만나지는 길임을 알게 하네.
내 남아 밭 갈고 씨 뿌리고 땀 흘리며 살아야
한 해 한 번 당신 만나는 길임을 알게 하네.
Burying You Next to the Corn Field
Do Jong Hwan
Gyeon-woo and Jiknyeo meet only on Chilseoknal*
But I return to bury you in the ground.
I return to bury so many baby’s breath flowers.
During your lifetime I never bought you a dress and yet
Upon your death I clothe you in funeral robes.
How many funeral clothes do I weave upon the loom
When I return to bury you next to the corn field?
Crossing the galaxy, crossing the clouds for one night a year,
The galaxy’s expanse stretches east and west so far that
I can know the distance between heaven and earth.
You soon become dirt and later I become wind
So that when we meet again I may know the distance.
My remaining field I plow with seeds and while I sweat I must live another year
So that when I meet you again I may know the distance.
*This poem makes reference to the myth of Gyeon-woo and Jiknyeo. In the legend Gyeon-woo, the herdsman of heaven, falls in love with Jiknyeo, the heavenly garment maker. The gods, in their wrath, separate the lovers and banish them to different stars. Their lamentations are so great the god’s eventually relent and allow them to meet one day a year, Chilseoknal, or July 7th.
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