Voices in the Forest

Enigmatic Bind                                                                           

Listen in English
Listen in Korean (read by Jin Ting)

The local lore is unconfirmed
so I am left to ponder your past,
rusted metal and torn tread imply a prior life
humming in the field from dawn to dusk.
I would ask if you miss your heyday
but the inquiry seems insensitive,
it is possible you are content to sit in symbiosis with cedars. 

Do you know who is the supporter and who is supported?
If you believe in fate – which I suspect you must –
you have taken time to consider my questions.
The raccoon would not have visited in your previous state,
she trusts now, then scrambles over the nearby fence.
When she returns – which she will – you will still be here
rooted in soil and secrets. 

Download the bilingual PDF (English and Korean)

Shinrin-yoku (Forest Bathing) 

Listen in English

linger in this micro wilderness
where dark-eyed juncos forage,
listen to their music harmonize
with calls of kids at play,
inhale sweet incense of fir and cherry laurel
wafting through the chill,
sip unsullied forest air
flavored by today,
caress moss-swaddled stones
whose stories are as old as earth,
be,
the park grows with you,
nurturing mother nature
shows you her way.

Download the bilingual PDF (translation by Language Link)

Fallen 

Listen in English
Listen in Korean (read by Jin Ting)

Envy not
older brothers’ front-row seat
to the song sparrow’s concert.
From their lofty view
they strain to glimpse
purple starflowers hugging
your broken torso,
sienna ants sheltering
in pocked heartwood
void of viscous sap,
lacy bracken fern,
Oregon grape, wild cherry
paying their respects.
Exult in
your shadowed resting place
lush with epigeal life
as brothers stand vigil.

Download the bilingual PDF

Voices in the Forest