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Poetry

How Far Does the Light

By Ra Heeduk
Translated from Korean by Won-Chung Kim & Christopher Merrill

That pomegranate lives the same life,
yearns for the same light.
Its pointed scarlet blossom
is an open mouth, “Ah,”
gathering every ray of light.

This fall, in my red
gums, pain burned belatedly,
and the soft bones of love that I couldn’t accept
became sunlight stuck in the distance.

Though I have reached the age to stop believing in love
I still yearn for light, I call out to somebody, “Ah.”

Copyright Ra Heeduk. By arrangement with the author. Translation copyright 2007 by Won-Chung Kim and Christopher Merrill. All rights reserved.

English

That pomegranate lives the same life,
yearns for the same light.
Its pointed scarlet blossom
is an open mouth, “Ah,”
gathering every ray of light.

This fall, in my red
gums, pain burned belatedly,
and the soft bones of love that I couldn’t accept
became sunlight stuck in the distance.

Though I have reached the age to stop believing in love
I still yearn for light, I call out to somebody, “Ah.”

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