Sinchon, the sloped alley that wraps around Changcheon Elementary School —
my commute runs up this incline.
As if it were directly connected to the main room of the house,
a small chest-high front door swings open.
Thud — a sack is
tossed out the door, even before it has fully opened.
"I don't want to be seen rummaging through trash" —
that out-of-context line flies out with it.
Through that gate, which would be shoulder-height for someone
the half-awake cry of a not-so-big child,
and a woman I could only imagine as a grandmother,
hunched over, one heel of her foot pointed backward,
still peeks out from the not-yet-fully-open door.
Ah — life..
On my way to work, that faint voice
kept looping in my ears. I leave these lines hoping to erase it..
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Slow Days·삼팔광땡
A Grandmother's Heart
This English version was translated by Claude.
