Azaleas

by Kim Sowol · translated by Wayne De Fremery

When you leave,
sickened by the sight of me,
I will send you away without a word.

I will scatter an armful of
azaleas from Yaksan in Yŏngbyŏn
over the path you leave by.

Go, and let each footfall fall
gently, tenderly
on the flowers I have left for you.

When you leave,
sickened by the sight of me,
even if I die, no tears will fall.

De Fremery, Peter Wayne. How Poetry Mattered in 1920s Korea. 2011. Harvard University, PhD dissertation. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/docview/879405777?accountid=14496.