Untitled attitudinal translation

by Kim Sowol · translated by Myong Kyo Jeong

I will hold back the tears that I should be shedding, she says; that amount of sadness will not be reduced, but will build up in my heart, leading those azalea petals to fester as your “possession” of happiness. I shall not shed a tear, so tread upon them as [you] go. No matter what. No matter what, I shall not shed a tear.

Jeong, Myeong Kyo. “An Event at the Dawn of Modern Korean Poetry: Kim Sowol’s ‘Azaleas’.” International Journal of Korean Humanities and Social Sciences 5, 12 November 2019.