Camellia, My Elder Sister

Camellia, My Elder Sister

Yong Wan Choi (08-25-07)

Among thick, ripened green leaves
her pale figure—
is it the soul of sister Yu Gwan-sun, who cried out for independence
is it the face of Sim Cheong, whose filial heart leapt into the sea,
lying under the water, reflected as in a mirror
the pink, blood-hued dream of a maiden shines in splendor

The tightly ripened bud—from the next village's
young bachelor, a one-sided love, she turns away
a heart that pounded running up the sloping path

Each time a cold wind brushes past, one petal opens with care
that calm gesture is my sister's hand combing her hair in cold water

Breaking flowering sprigs, one held in her mouth, one given to me
my mysterious sister, a gentle heart who will marry and bear a child
a swelling bosom that gives its life for faith in a hidden flame

Each time the sun rises in the strange sky across the way
my sister's slender face smiles, waiting for new tidings