Poorly-tied coat-string
I wear a Korean traditional overcoat
on the morning of Lunar New Year's Day.
I tie my coat-string as I was told
but it ends up looking like a lion's face
with a distorted loop and knot
as if I tied the hemp-cloth tightly.
Poorly-tied coat-string on my wrinkled clothes
reminds me of my past sloppy days.
I lived covering my fault, roughly tying my coat-string.
The amber-button on my outer garment has covered
the shady slope I ran along deviating from the track
to pursue a short-cut.
However, things were different on the day when
I wore an overcoat on top of my outer garment.
A poorly-tied coat-string on a fast track
is exactly like a bare-skin face with a grimace.
I am told I should live unhurriedly,letting things run their course.
Reminding myself of the order of tying a coat-string,
I practise tying and untying of it dozen times,
and perform new year's bow, adjusting my dress,
taking pride in the brightly-smiling coat-string.