“Nothing to kill or die for,” John Lennon’s song was sung. Claiming no brutality, You wrote in blood with a severed tongue. You pulled out and arrayed a beating heart. Dripping with blood, red roses bloomed – recklessly. It was an audacious May.2
The February of Mangwol-dong,3 bright yet so dreary, We have been forsaking memories. At that juncture, You appeared like lightning, wearing military boots. You calendared Gwangju4 on the February of Mandalay.5
‘Everything will be O.K.’ Said the t-shirt worn by a smiling ‘Kyal Sin,’6 The reddish-pink flower stain permeated. Like John Lennon who was gunned down by a fan, The Myanmar was gunned down by the trusted force of arms. Like the consecrated blood petals of May, In front of the fountain of Geumnam-ro7 are “Dawei, Mandalay, Mawlamyine, Monywa, Mergui, Myitkyina, and Yangon . . .”.8
Where have we gone who used to sing, “Imagine all the people Living life in peace.”? Where is the 19-year-old ‘Angel’?
Myanmar! Myanmar! Burn as eternal candlelight!
1. Lennon, John. “Imagine” was written in March 1971 during the Vietnam War.
2 May symbolizes the month of the Gwangju Democratic Uprising that began on May 18, 1980 in South Korea.
3 Mangwol-dong is in Gwangju City where the May 18th National Cemetery is located.
4 Gwangju-City is where the Gwangju Democratic Uprising occurred.
5 Mandalay is the second-largest city in Myanmar where anti-coup protests are occurring in opposition to the coup d’état which occurred on 1 February 2021.
6 Kyal Sin, also known as ‘Angel,’ was killed on 3 March 2021 during the 2021 Myanmar protests.
7 Geumnam-ro is the site of the iconic fountain in Gwangju City where the people rallied and shed their blood during the Gwangju Democratic Uprising.
8 The names of cities in Myanmar where protests have occurred.
** 이미루 시인은 서울 출생. 2020년 <작가> 신인상 등단. 전자우편: sheena-lee@hanmail.net
Writer’s Bio
Yi, Mee-ru. Born in Seoul. Debuted as a poet in 2020 as the recipient of Newcomer Award. E-mail: sheena-lee@hanmail.net