Yang Geum-Hee [South Korea]

 

Daffodil
 
The yellow daffodil
that blooms only in midwinter—
a beauty that drives away the cold,
a source of strength
to endure the frost.
 
So that the heart
waiting for spring
does not grow weary,
it lays a bridge of blossoms
across the depth of winter,
whispering—
Take my hand, cross over.
A selfless pilgrim,
guiding us toward spring.
 
To cleanse the crooked memories
with its clear ringing,
it hangs beneath the eaves of winter
like a wind chime of quiet purification.
 
 
 
Fruit Diary
 
To eat a single, well-ripened fruit
is to receive a rounded universe within myself.
 
From a small seed,
awakening in the dark of the soil,
reaching quietly toward the light,
until at last it gathers into a full, round fruit—
 
the earth must have offered its back in silence,
and the rain, deep at the roots,
must have whispered courage.
 
Fragile beings,
becoming one another’s sunlight,
one another’s rain,
one another’s soil,
have tended the young life—
fearing even the smallest wound,
keeping watch with anxious hearts,
enduring long days together
so it might ripen more perfectly, more whole.
 
And someone, at last,
not wishing to harm that rounded life,
must have gathered it gently
with careful hands.
 
That circle of care
has now come to me.
Within me, it becomes another quiet universe.
 
And so, today,
in the small field of my heart,
I plant once more
a single, rounded seed.
 
 
Banana
 
Only after passing through green days
does it finally ripen yellow like sunlight
Those green days, when peeled away,
are like the soft flesh quietly revealed—
days that have nurtured inner growth
Even the simple act of eating a banana
can fill the empty nourishment of the heart
and ripen today
more maturely than yesterday
So that a day welcomed with a well-ripened heart
may gently hold an unripe one,
we must cultivate the hands of the heart
 
 

Author’s Bionote:
 
*Poet Dr. (Hon.) Yang Geum-Hee, born in 1967 in Jeju, Korea, has published four poetry collections and received eight literary awards in recognition of her contributions to literature. “Nests of Birds” (a bilingual English-Korean edition) and an essay collection titled “A Happy Companion on the Journey”. In acknowledgment of her extensive contributions to international literature, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the International Forum for Creativity and Humanity (President Dr. Aziz Mountassir) in the Kingdom of Morocco in March 2025. Poet Ms. Yang was Editor-in-Chief of Jejuin News, a researcher at the Jeju Sea Grant Center, a specially appointed professor at Jeju International University, and the second President of the Korean Association of World Literature. She currently serves as an editorial writer for Samda Ilbo, President of Jeju PEN, and Vice President of the Korean Peace Cooperation. Her poetry has been translated into multiple languages and introduced in countries including the United States, China, Japan, Germany, Russia, Italy, Spain, England, Taiwan, Nepal, Egypt, Greece, Pakistan, Vietnam, Albania, Bangladesh, Kosovo, Tajikistan, Belgium, and beyond.