For
National Poetry month two years ago we
traveled to Korea to savor some sijo—poems
with restricted syllable counts and distinctive parts for exploring an idea. And
we met Hwang Jin-i, a 16th Century gisaeng, or officially-designated (but low status) entertainer. (It
was a whole thing—gisaeng were
thoroughly trained in fine arts, poetry and other writing, as well as in
medical care and needlework. I suppose you’d call them the Korean equivalent of
geisha.)
Hwang
is considered one of the best writers of sijo
ever. She apparently was good at other aspects of the gisaeng job; there’ve been novels, films, operas and TV shows built
around her life and legend, on both sides of the DMZ. Her professional name was
Myeongwol, or “Bright Moon”, so the second example may be a play on words,
which is entirely consistent with the rules of sijo.
Blue
mountains speak of my desire,
Green
waters reflect my Lover's love:
The
mountains unchanging,
The
waters flowing by.
Sometimes
it seems the waters cannot forget me,
They
part in tears, regretting, running away.
Jade
Green Stream, Don't boast so proud
of
your easy passing through these blue hills
Once
you have reached the broad sea,
to
return again will be hard,
While
the Bright Moon fills these empty hills,
why
not pause? Then go on, if you will.
No comments:
Post a Comment