Music for Voice

Translated By Ryan Choi

Translated from the Korean

i

Sonorous music for voice— I hear
a short but elegiac,

 pained

melody— for long discarded

dreams of a simple life
 and my heart
 in fading aches.

ii

Funereal music for voice— I hear
a brisk but elegiac,

 pained

melody— for the restless

desire I have for quiet
 and the tears
 spill down my face.

iii

Tragic music for voice— I hear
a long but stilted,

 pained

melody— for my shriveling

spirit, and I smile faintly feeling
 a touch refreshed.

iv

Water music for voice— I hear
a high but grounded,

 pained

melody— for the soothing blue

inescapable breeze, blowing sweetly

 through every corner
 of town.
 

 

Source: Poetry (July/August 2025)