It Faintly Lingers
Translated by Jeanine Walker and
Shim Jaekwan
Faintly remains.
Scarcely remains.
Drops of water form inside my life
as if I cherish a drop of light
just as love is formed inside the word love
just as the word goodbye doesn’t permeate it
it faintly lingers.
A thin part of me remains.
Sometimes inside me a full feeling arises and
inside me is almost full of things other than me but
it’s far from me. It’s forever in the distance.
Before loving, even before we fall in love
before parting
like someone broken up with I’m faintly
thinly breathing.
Even if I look in the mirror I’m not there.
Even if I take a picture I’m not there.
Even if I look back strongly with my neck
I’m not there.
Even after finishing the preparations to love
like someone broken up with before it even begins
faintly I remain. It’s faint but
a drop of a clear me
forms in the middle of my life.
Translated from the Korean
