Comic Ventriloquist, and: Back to the Past, and: A Sunday of Only Afternoon

Comic Ventriloquist, and: Back to the Past, and: A Sunday of Only Afternoon Kim Hyesoon (bio) translated from the Korean by Cindy Juyoung Ok Wearing a black hat andcarrying a black cane andfluttering the tail of a black tuxedoas though conducting a funeral Covering and covering myselfI pull down my cuffs Like a doll popping suddenly out the stomach,there is a timefor curse words to be spat like seeds If I cover the doll's mouthmy mouth is blocked andthere is a time whendeath bursts from the stomach without warninglike held-back laughter When I take my black gloves off and put on my black hat and turn around to go—such an end without an end [End Page 119] Back to the Past She's walking hereShe's loosening her hair and undressing andwalking hereWhen all is flowing,when all fins are wavingwhile walkingthe womanwho returns alone tosprinkle and spread salt is running hereShe's holding up her skirt's length anddancing while walkingWhen all is flowingover her shoulderthe womanwho returns alone toslap someone's cheeksand pour vomit on their head is flying hereWith no eyelids andno lips,the woman who is only a wholelays eggs in a rock's crevice andwhen she's flowing againshe offers a daggerto go back to the past andbe a bloody smell once a monthwoman [End Page 120] A Sunday of Only Afternoon The falling rain looks atthe blue sky The ruined drawing gazes atthe white paper The black crow stares atthe buried person The morning that wakes in the afternoonlooks back Listening while holding the breathto a spring-like daughter's morning song [End Page 121] Kim Hyesoon kim hyesoon is the author of The Hell of That Star and over a dozen other poetry collections in Korean. A winner of the Griffin Prize, Cikada Prize, and Midang Award, her work is translated into several languages. Cindy Juyoung Ok cindy juyoung ok is the author of Ward Toward from the Yale Series of Younger Poets. She teaches undergraduate and graduate creative writing.