Bitter Cucumbers and Bad Husbands

Vivid Lily Pond

—Photo Enhancement by Katy Brown, Davis

WHEN I THINK ABOUT WHY
—Anonymous, 16th Century

When I think about why
You sent that fan to me,
I wonder if you meant
For me to blow out the fire in my heart.

How could I put out a fire with a fan
When teardrops failed?


(trans. from the Korean by Virginia Olsen Baron and Chung Seuk Park)

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AGING
—Anonymous, 16th Century

Aging is an agony.

Just white hairs I'd thought;
But now the teeth are falling out
And hearing is a sort
Of fought-off deafness, it seems nothing
That my hair is white.

And she looks at me, she looks at me,
My darling of the night,
As though some bitter cucumber
Were sullying her sight.


(trans. by Graeme Wilson)

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TEN YEARS IT TOOK
—Song Sun, 1493-1583

Ten years it took
To build my little cottage.
Now the cool wind inhabits half of it
And the rest is filled with moonlight.

There is no place left for the mountain and the stream
So I guess they will have to stay outside.


(trans. by VIrginia Olsen Baron and Chung Seuk Park)

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I WILL CUT OUT THE MIDDLE WATCH
—Hwang Chini (c. 1506-1544)

I will cut out the middle watch
Of this long midwinter night,
And carefully store it away.
When my lover returns I will take it out again,
Unrolling it inch by inch,
To lengthen the night.


(trans. by John S. Major)

 

—Photo by Katy Brown

DREAMS
—Myong'ok, 16th Century
 
It is said that a lover seen in dreams
Will prove to be an unfaithful love.
Yet I ache and moan for you, faithless
Lover, and how can I see you except in
Dreams. O love, even though it is only
In dreams that I see you,
Let me see you; let me see you always.
 

(trans. by Michael Stephens and Okhee Yoo)

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THE RIVER DARKENS ON AN AUTUMN NIGHT
—Yi Jung, 16th Century

The river darkens on an autumn night
And the waves subside as if to sleep.
I drop a line into the water
But the sleepy fish won't bite.

The empty boat and I return
Filled with our catch of moonlight.


(trans. by Virginia Olsen Baron and Chung Seuk Park)
 
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DON'T BRING OUT THE STRAW MAT
—Han Kwak, 16th Century

Don't bring out the straw mat;
I'll sit on fallen leaves.
Don't bother to light the pine-knot torch;
The moon will rise again tonight

But I might say yes to wine
And a little dish of mountain herbs.


(trans. by Virginia Olsen Baron and Chung Seuk Park)

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NIGHTS AFTER RAIN WHEN THE MOON
—Kwon Homun, 1532-1587

Nights after rain when the moon
Cuts through the clouds to land on pine branches,
Slanting brilliant light
Across the blue stream,
A flock of seagulls from somewhere
Follows me around.
 

(trans. by Kevin O'Rourke)

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Today's LittleNip:

GOOD SCHOLARS MAKE BAD HUSBANDS
—Anonymous, 16th Century

Girls, don't ever marry students!
Their long backs require great swaths of cloth.
Well-fed, they rest their lazy bones.
In freezing winter weather
while you transplant rice for thirty-six coppers
they read books by the fire,
waiting to eat your earnings.


(trans. from the Vietnamese by Ngueyen Ngoc Bich)

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—Medusa

 —Photo by Katy Brown

[Thanks to Katy for these photos of the

lily pond near the Kieth house. For some

of her latest photos of our local lake, see

Medusa's Facebook page!]