Wednesday, November 28, 2012

The Korea Diary (June 2012)

DAY 0 (on the plane): 

And so, my dreams 
are about to take flight

 With a push and a roar 
I'll get to ride on clouds

 The heart wants to jump out 
on no. 9 

 (can't wait)

DAY 1 (HELLO KOREA):


Is this too good to be true?
Fairytales and imagination
do own a dimension of their own
here

My poetry has only
begun taking shape

DAY 2 (CAFES GALORE!):

In a picturesque scene
adorned with utopias of coffee and art
warm words flowed

And so
lanterns lit up
street lights were aglow

I am only a speck of light
but in the dark and cold of night
a speck is
a warm star in space


a priceless jewel in the vast emptiness.


DAY 3 (SEOUL ZOO!):


                                                              We are afraid
                                                              of falling
                                                              from dizzying heights
                                                              of limits
                                                              defined by others

                                                              Yet when we are
                                                              set free we
                                                              realise that an
                                                              endless flat land is not
                                                              that good a path to keep treading on
                                                              for the rest of our lives.

                                                              We are one
                                                              we live and breathe under
                                                              the same sky

                                                              Yet when we were
                                                              once free we
                                                              we
                                                              decided that they should be here
                                                              and we
                                                              we
                                                              should be there

                                                              On a road
                                                              in an enclosed area
                                                              I learnt about the
                                                              growing vastness of the world.

DAY 4 (ROAD TRIP DAY 1- CHUNCHEON):

Blessings
they come in fierce gasps for air
hurried steps

A closed door becomes a
silent cringe of another
door opening

The chill that cuts through bones sets
new trails for warmth to
set ablaze

Chaos and collision of time creates
music so sweet yet haunting it is
incredibly beautiful

Blessings
they do come disguised and probably
in threes

DAY 5 (ROAD TRIP DAY 2- GANGNEUNG):

                                                             Mere stranger
                                                             the warmth you possess and offer
                                                             it moves me
                                                             and it moves even the sun to
                                                             melt into an array of colours;

                                                                                   the colours of your heart.

                                                             Crashing waves
                                                             you are a two-note lullaby of an ebb and a flow
                                                             it rocks me
                                                             and it even rocks the sky and
                                                             the world to a state of bliss and calm;

                                                                                   the only endless reptition we never get tired of.
                                                             (I slept well that night)

DAY 6 (ROAD TRIP DAY 3- PYEONGCHANG/GANGNEUNG):

Fog and wool
sands and beer
raincoats and hats
dancing feet and freezing cold

It was a warm and icy day.

DAY 7 (LONG JOURNEY BACK TO SEOUL):

By the window
in my seat
The world keeps
growing outside

They come in
curves, slopes, seas
deep green and
light blue along with dots of other colours.

By the window
in my seat
we happily exchanged
our hearts in flowing conversations

The waters are
still and clear
they are like
mirrors reflecting their surroundings.

By the window
in my seat
we are still
and we reflect on each other's thoughts and feelings;

By the window
in my seat
with lovely company (and scenery)
no ride or journey is ever too dreary.


DAY 9 (HONGDAE):

                                                         Creativity that bursts through
                                                         the roofs, the doors, the furniture
                                                         crafted on clothes and accessories

                                                         I breathe it everywhere on the streets.

                                                        When it is a part of air
                                                        of the essentials of the world
                                                        I am recharged
                                                        and am proud to proclaim that

                                                        there is hope in this world after all.

DAY 10 (DAEJIN, INSADONG AND GANGNAM STATION):

Broken castle
a stuck wheel
Sword with snake
a long maze

If only I can carve out
my scars, the deep ridges
that have formed in me

There must be a way
to set my ruins on fire
to burn the old bridges
and blaze the grounds
for new seeds to grow

There must be
no turning back.

DAY 11 (E-MART AND SLEEPLESS LAST NIGHT):

                                                As night sails away
                                                I watched the birth of
                                                a new day

                                               Yesterday, today
                                               tomorrow
                                               there is no word to describe
                                               the simultaneity of all
                                               time and space

                                              Time moves
                                              before this life
                                              (and after this too)

                                              A journey thus may come to
                                             an end
                                             but at this point it is also
                                             a new beginning.

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