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.