The Azalea

by Kim Sowol · translated by Peter H. Lee

You’re sick and tired of me.
When you go
I’ll bid you goodbye without saying a word.

I’ll gather
azaleas on Yak Mountain,
the burning azaleas of Yöngbyon,
and strew them in your path.

Tread gently, please,
step by step, softly,
on the flowers of dedication.

You’re sick and tired of me.
When you leave
I’ll not weep though I die.

Lee, Peter H., editor. Anthology of Korean Poetry from the earliest era to the present. New York: John Day, 1964.