U-Taek's Sijo For Spring

Sijo on Spring by U-Taek (1262-1342)


청산에 눈녹인바람 건듯불고 간데없다

적은덧 빌어다가 머리위에 불리고저

귀밑에 해묵은 서리를 녹여볼까 하노라

The spring breeze melted snow on the hills then quickly disappeared.
I wish I could borrow it briefly to blow over my hair
And melt away the aging frost forming now about my ears.


Does spring seem to mock one the older one gets?


U-Taek’s poem contrasts wistfully the youthfulness of the season and his own physical decline. If only one’s white hairs could vanish as easily as the melting snows. I’m more worried about the frost between my ears, though. Slip sliding away into senility doesn’t keep me awake at night but I find myself working at Sudoku puzzles a little more earnestly than before.

sources:
http://www.ahapoetry.com/sijo.htm
http://www.sejongculturalsociety.org/writing/current/sijo_samples.html
http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_photo_detail.htm?No=16127

Stunning Autumn Colours in Chuncheon

Although the main event was the 2010 Chuncheon Marathon in Gangwon-do,  I'm cutting and pasting this photo from the Chosun Ilbo on account of the arresting backdrop to the sports event. Forget about the participants running along the bridge. Just look at the tapestry of colours on the cliff in the background. What a sight. Wonder if any of the runners were distracted enough by the beauty to stop and stare?

Just wishing I was there.

From On the Nine Beautiful Sights in a Mountain  by Yi Yi


The seventh is maples and rocks where autumn's reflected
They are clad with silken cloth of thin clear frost.
Sitting on a cold crag I forget where my house is.


칠곡은 어디메고 풍암楓巖에 추색이 좋다
청상淸霜이 엷게 치니 절벽이 금수이로다
한암寒巖에 혼자 앉아서 집을 잊고 있노라


sources:http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/10/25/2010102500358.html

http://image.chosun.com/special/inside/flash/100920/100920_autumn_eng.html

http://www.ling.ohio-state.edu/~kyoon/sijo.htm