[A Sip of a Book] The Last Poems of National Poet Shin Kyungrim: "To Be Alive Is Beautiful"

Editor's NoteSome sentences encapsulate the entire content of a book, while others immediately resonate with readers, creating a point of connection with the book. Here, we introduce such meaningful sentences excerpted from books.

On May 22, marking the first anniversary of poet Shin Kyungrim's passing, a posthumous poetry collection has been published. The poet, who debuted in 1956, spent nearly 70 years breathing vitality into people's hearts with rhythmic writing. Until the very last moments of his life, as he battled illness, he sang of the beauty of being alive. It is said that his final words were also, "To be alive is beautiful." This new collection, the first in 11 years, was made possible when his bereaved family discovered unpublished works on his computer and released them to the public.

Villages I passed through, covered in dust/ Looking back from afar, they were fields of peach blossoms// The moon tilts in the dusky western sky/ A single petal clings to my shoulder like a dragonfly
- Full text of "Dragonfly"

Peach and apricot blossoms bloom in profusion, sunlight seeps through the mist. I dream of going to distant lands, even farther away. With you, in my twenties.// All day, I wander the streets. Suddenly, I find myself getting off the train at a mountain station. I listen to Mozart and read Trotsky. I never let go of my dreams in your eyes. You lead me into my thirties.// The world is dark and the fierce wind never stops. I am a person with no home and no path. On a long night without moon or stars, when I quietly clench my empty fists, you suddenly appear before me, a person who comes from my forties.
- Excerpt from "You Are the Person Who Runs Through Time"

There are things hidden between rocks and in the gaps of stones./ There are things between trees and between walls./ Flowers are hidden, grass is hidden, stones are hidden./ Are they hiding from the wind, hiding from the sunlight? Perhaps not./ They are beautiful because they are hidden, and even more beautiful because they are unseen.
- Excerpt from "For Those Who Are Hiding"

It is amazing that things which never entered bright eyes and young ears/ finally reach cloudy eyes and old ears./ I do not know exactly what they are/ but I know that someday the day will come when I understand them./ I will not be disappointed, even if that day/ is the day I end my existence in this world.
- Excerpt from "Xiaoyaoyou (Free and Easy Wandering)"

I go to Punggi in Sobaeksan to see the stars// To find the stars hidden between stars/ To find the stars whose light is lost, overshadowed by bigger stars/ To hear the stories that are too quiet to be heard// To find the people hidden between stars/ To find those who have spent their whole lives wandering without finding anything/ To see the dances of those too small to be seen// To find the stars that only look up at the big stars from afar/ To find the stars that are neither sad nor unhappy/ To see the laughter of those too faint to be seen
- Excerpt from "In Search of Stars"

All that I long for lies within the falling snow./ There is a forest of poplar trees and a long winding path./ There is a blazing wood stove and your wet gloves./ All that is beautiful piles up in the snow./ There is a cafe with wide windows and your voice./ There is the sound of a train whistle and the sound of the wind.
- Excerpt from "Snow Is Falling"

As a child, I would wander the streets for no reason/ Or go to the riverside to watch water birds fly over the water/ How happy I was then/ Sometimes I would roam the back alleys of Casablanca/ Or listen to the cries of flocks of birds at Lake Baikal// Now, old and my dreams fulfilled/ I have gone to Lake Baikal and dipped my hands in its cold waters/ I have gone to the Sahara and buried my feet in the sand/ I have gotten drunk on wine in a secluded cafe in Paris/ I was happy then too, and every night in my dreams/ I would secretly get drunk in the back room of a friend's musty tavern/ Or catch freshwater shrimp with a net in a ditch
- Excerpt from "And I Am Happy"

Summer comes and winter passes again/ As time flows like this, we/ Have become old trees firmly rooted in the ground/ Boasting flowers, leaves, and fruits with the seasons/ Enduring snow and rain on cold winter days/ Leading children full of dreams to the land of stars/ Becoming shade for weary neighbors/ Spring comes and autumn passes again// Now, all of us stand here/ Like trees// Looking back at our lives, which have ripened into red fruits/ Remembering the days when we gathered as seeds/ Like seeds, like trees, like fruits
- Excerpt from "Like Seeds, Like Trees, Like Fruits"

To Be Alive Is Beautiful | Written by Shin Kyungrim | Changbi | 152 pages | 13,000 KRW