News from Home

News from Home

Yong Wan Choi 02.16.12

As a child I went to the sea I longed for
the swaying hem of the waves' hair
lightly brushed the face of the rock

Pushed off by the ebb, I left for a foreign land
the day the ship's horn sounds, the memory of that touch on my face
the waves come in on the flood tide, looking for old faces

When someone from home steps down onto the pier
I meet their eyes as if I see old affection
and feeling through my memories, I ask for news from home

Calling up the memory of the waves, I run and play on mountain paths
and when the evening glow falls beyond the village hill
the ship sails far off, following the setting sun

Only longing remains, the wake vanished
straining my ears to sounds from the far side of the globe
the rock lives its whole life cradling a dream of home