Rain
(비)

poem by
Jeong Ji-yong (정지용)
year of publication
1941
poetry collection
Baeknokdam (백록담), 1941

Rain

돌에
Stones are
그늘이 차고,
covered with shade,

따로 몰리는
as the whirlwind
소소리 바람.
converges as one.

앞섰거니 하야
Rushing ahead
꼬리 치날리어 세우고,
with the tail raised sharply,

종종 다리 까칠한
it moves with the gait of
산새 걸음걸이.
a thin-legged wild bird.

여울 지어
Forming swirls
수척한 흰 물살,
of lean white currents,

갈갈이
straightens
손가락 펴고.
its phalanx of fingers.

멎은 듯
Seemingly letting up
새삼 돋는 빗낱
only to renew the droplets,

붉은 잎 잎
noisily tramples
소란히 밟고 간다.
all over the red leaves.

돌에
그늘이 차고,

따로 몰리는
소소리 바람.

앞섰거니 하야
꼬리 치날리어 세우고,

종종 다리 까칠한
산새 걸음걸이.

여울 지어
수척한 흰 물살,

갈갈이
손가락 펴고.

멎은 듯
새삼 돋는 빗낱

붉은 잎 잎
소란히 밟고 간다.

Rain

Stones are
covered with shade,

as the whirlwind
converges as one.

Rushing ahead
with the tail raised sharply,

it moves with the gait of
a thin-legged wild bird.

Forming swirls
of lean white currents,

straightens
its phalanx of fingers.

Seemingly letting up
only to renew the droplets,

noisily tramples
all over the red leaves.
poetry collection whasajip cover
original cover of Whasajip
photo from http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr

Longing for Home (향수) is the first poem in the great poet Seo Jeong-ju (서정주)'s first poetry collection Wha-Sa Jip (Flower Snake). The works in this collection deal with profound and heavy subjects such as self-perpetuating instinct of life, the deeper realm of the human psyche, and so on. This particular bent in the author's early works gave the poet the label of Lifist (생명파).

The work starts with a stark depiction of the birth of the author himself. You get the feeling that it foregoes any embellishment or euphemism in the brutally honest and naked scene of the humble birth, neglected by his own father so that the old grandmother is the only one around, in a dead poor shabby place, by a mother whose fingernails were black. It was really a rock bottom start.

The boy still survives and grows up, even though, in his own words, all he encountered in the world was shame. People see a sinner or a fool in him but he brushes it off, and won't apologize for anything.

He finds his share of brilliantly dawning mornings, in poetry in particular, but even that doesn't turn him into a nice docile person. He declares that he lived a life of a sick dog heaving with its tongue hanging out. It seems the instinct for survival is what kept him going, as he states what raised him was the wind more than anything else.

It is a narrative we don't see in poetic works every day, and is made all the more striking by the succinct yet impactful words. The author's direct, in-your-face kind of depiction touches your heart and puts the scene right before your eyes, so to speak, skipping any cerebral interpretation, which may be the hallmark of great poetry.

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Jeong Ji-yong (정지용)

A prominent poet and educator who spearheaded the new modernistic trend of the 1930s through his works on wide-ranging subjects feauring sensual language and keen attention to detail

aritist
Jeong Ji-yong (정지용, 鄭芝溶), poet
pen name
Jiryong (지룡, 池龍)
nationality
Korea
born
June 20, 1902,
in Okcheon, N. Chungcheong Province, Korea
(충청북도 옥천군)
died
September 25, 1950 (unconfirmed)
genre
lyric poetry
major works
Home Longing (항수)
Homeplace (고향)
Windowpane (유리창)
The Sea (바다)
Lake (호수)
The Other Side of the Mountain (산 넘어 저쪽에는)
Cafe France (카페 프란스)
The Road Home (귀로)
Rain (비)
Pomegranate (석류)