Korean Poetry: 호랑이는 고양이과다

호랑이는고양이과다

                         최정례

고양이가자라서호랑이가되는것은아니지만

장미열매속에

교태스런꽃잎과사나운가시를감추었듯이

고양이속에는호랑이가있다

작게말아구긴꽃잎같이오므린빨간혀속에

현기증나게노란눈알속에

달빛은충실하게수세기를흘러내렸을것이고

고양이는은빛잠속에서

이빨을갈고발톱을뜯으며

짐승속의피와야성을

쓰다듬고쓰다듬었을것이고

자기본래의어두운시간을가만히바라보는것처럼

고양이,

눈속에살구빛호랑이눈알을굴리고있다

독수리가앉았다날아가버린한그루살구나무처럼

호랑이는

Even if a cat does not grow up to be a tiger,

the tiger exists in the cat

like a rose berry hides

coquettish petals and fiery thorns.

Moonlight probably faithfully flows for centuries

over the red pursed tongue

that looks like a folded petal rolling into smallness;

The cat probably grinds its teeth and scratches its toenails

in silver sleep;

Thereby it tames its blood and wilderness.

As if it looks into its innate dark hours

The cat,

in its eyes, there are the rolling apricot-colored eyes of a tiger

like an apricot tree from which a sitting eagle has flown off.

………………………………………………………….

Choi Jeongrye was born in a city near Seoul. She studied Korean poetry at Korea University and received her Ph.D. from the same school. She published seven poetry/essay books and received awards from the Korean Poetry Society. She participated in the international writing program of the University of Iowa in 2006 as a poet and spent one year at the University of California at Berkeley as a visiting writer in 2009. Her poems have appeared in Free Verse, Iowa Review, Text Journal, World Literature Today and various Japanese literary magazines. She also co-translated the English-language collection “Instances” with Wayne de Fremery and Brenda Hillman. She is currently a lecturer at Korea University.