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DOES SPRING COME TO THESE STOLEN FIELDS



Does spring come to this land no more our own,
to these stolen fields?
Bathed in the sun I go as if in a dream along a lane
that cuts across paddy-fields like parted hair
to where the blue sky and the green field meet.
You mute heaven and silent fields,
I do not feel I have come here on my own;
tell me if I am driven by you or by some hidden force.

The breeze that whispers in my ears
strokes my garment at every step;
the larks behind the clouds are caroling
like maidens across the fence.
You rich green fields of corn,
have you washed the cataracts of your hair
in that gentle rain that fell last night?
I feel so refreshed and light in the head.

Alone as I am, my steps are cheerful
for the kind water in the ditch
rushes past the thirsty fields
with rippling songs of lullaby.
Swallows and butterflies, be gentle and modest.
I must say hello to the cocks-comb-flowering village.
How I wish to have another look at those fields,
weeded by women, their hair oil-shining.

Hand me a hoe that I may work in an honest sweat;
that I may walk on this earth soft as rich breasts
till my ankles grow numb with pain.
My soul yearns for the infinite as that of children
frolicking on the riverbank.
Tell me what it is you are craving for,
whither you go.
Soaked in the smell of the greening earth
I walk all day long limping between the green of sorrow
and joy as if possessed by the spirit of spring.

But now that the land is no more our own
spring can no longer be our own.






-- From "Korean Poetry Today : Selected and
translated with an introduction by Jaihiun J. Kim"
at UCB East Asian Library (PL 959.5 K68 1987 EAST)

==> Yi, Sanghwa (1900-1941)
Born in Taegu, north Kyongsang province, Yi studied French at Tokyo
University of Foreign Studies, Japan. Affiliated with 'The White Waves'
circle, Yi wrote in early years romantic poems with a touch of sentimentality.
Later, Yi succeeded in crystalizing the misery of the oppressed nation into
"Does Spring Come to These Stolen Fields?" Yi's poems were posthumously
collected by Paek Ki-man in 'Sang-hwa And Kowol' (1951).