시 이기락/ 호미로 흐르는 강

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호미로 흐르는 강

이기락

오직 가난과 자식을 위해

벌건 화덕에 달궈지고

쇠모루에 모진 매 맞으며

더 강해지려고

찬물에 담금질당해도

그렇게 사시는 줄 아셨던 당신

땅끝으로 구부러진 허리

가파른 산비탈 일구시며

포기마다 적신 땀방울로

끝내 가난을 걷어내신 당신

오랜만에 고향 찾은 날

허름한 헛간 기둥

녹슨 채 걸려 있는 호미 하나

“얼른 와, 배고프지”

꿈속처럼 다정하게 잡아주시던 손길

평생 호미로 살다 가신

당신의 땀방울

강이 되어 흐르는데

슬픈 듯 느껴지는 당신의 미소

어머니가 걸으셨던 그 길 따라 노를 저어봅니다

A River of Homi*

By Lee Gi-rak

A homi is thrust into a blazing forge,

then hammered relentlessly upon an anvil,

before being plunged into cold water

to emerge stronger than before.

Mother, you lived like a homi

so that we might escape poverty.

With your back bent toward the earth

like a homi,

you cultivated the steep mountain fields,

pouring out endless sweat upon the crops

until poverty finally loosened its grip.

On the day I returned to my hometown

after a long absence,

I found a rusty homi hanging on a barn post.

It seemed to say,

"Come, you must be hungry."

It seemed to take my hand,

just as you once did in my dreams.

All your life, you lived like a homi,

shedding enough sweat

to form a river.

Now I row along your path

upon that river of homi.

*A homi is a traditional Korean hand hoe with a curved steel blade and a wooden handle. It is used for weeding, transplanting seedlings, cultivating soil, and other farming tasks.

Lee Gi-rak

Literary Debut Essay Literature (essay, 2013)

Literary Village (poetry, 2022)

Award Prize Winner, Civil Servants Literary Contest

(children's poetry category, 2016)

Affiliations Member, Chungbuk PEN Literature Society