Azaleas

by Kim Sowol · translated by David R. McCann

When you turn away from seeing me
and go,
gently, without a word, I shall send you away.

From Mount Yak in Yongbyon,
azaleas
I shall gather an armful and scatter them on your way.

Step after step away
on those flowers placed
before you, press deep, step lightly, and go

When you turn away from seeing me
and go,
though I die, no, not a single tear shall fall.

Kim Sowŏl. Azaleas: A Book of Poems. Translated by David R. McCann. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007.