Crackle crackle crackle
Inside the hearth,
the tree ring burning in circles
remember life, layer upon layer, as they burn.
The time through which fog has passed,
the time through which storms have passed,
the time through which blizzards have passed.
Time never returns,
only the flames that consume the ring.
Those once fiery ring,
my own life too, in concentric circles,
must it also be remembered as a handful of ashes?
타닥타닥 타닥
아궁이 속에서
둥글게 타오르는 나이테,
켜켜이 연소되며 생生을 기억한다.
안개가 지나간 시간,
폭풍우가 지나간 시간,
눈보라가 지나간 시간.
시간은 되돌아오지 않고
나이테를 태우는 불꽃만 남는다.
뜨겁던 나이테,
동심원同心圓 나의 생生도
한 줌의 재로 기억되어야 하는가.
She won first prize in the poetry division of the Kyung Hee University Literary Contest three times. She received third prize in the poetry division of the 6th Shin Saimdang Commemorative Literary Contest and also earned an honorable mention in the Yeongnam Women’s Literary Contest hosted by the Busan Ilbo newspaper
et Ms. You Youn sook was born in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, and graduated from the Department of Korean Language and Literature at Kyung Hee University.In 2024, she was selected in the literary category of the Gyeonggi-do Senior Creative Works Contest. In the same year, she won the Gold Prize at the 1st National Poetry Recitation Contest hosted by Ieodo Literature.
She made her literary debut through Munyesajo and currently serves as Vice President of the Munyesajo Writers’ Association. She is also Vice President of the Ieodo Literary Society and the Korean World Literature Association.
She received the Grand Excellence Award in the poetry category at the 32nd Munyesajo Literary Awards and the Main Prize in the poetry category at the 34th Munyesajo Literary Awards.
Her poetry collection is titled Excreting the Waste.
