Azaleas

by Kim So Wol · translated by Kim Woo Chul

Should you leave me,
Saying you’re weary of me,
No word would I speak.

Only with azaleas
From Yaksan, Pyongbook
Nyongbyon,
Would I carpet your way.

Tread on, my dearest—
With lovely petals
I will weave your way.

If you grow weary of me,
No tears would I shed
Though I may die.

Kim Woo Chul. “The Native Place of Kim So Wol”. New Korea 30. Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1958.