Proud-pied April: The waters cannot forget me

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 16^th 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.