A Meal
At the dining table
Having a meal, I ask myself
Why do I eat
If I eat to live
Why do I live
In order to get a good hot meal
How many times have I cheated others
How many times have I deceived myself
Meals are a chain on my life;
Meals keep my life in shackles.
I bowed humbly, although I did not want to;
Said things I did not mean.
I have gone places I did not want to.
I held hands I did not want to;
Hidden what I really had to say.
I could not go places I wanted to;
Could not hold hands I wanted to.
Why should I eat, I think again, today.
I have broken promises I should have kept.
I have heeded what I should have spoken out against;
Instead, the meals I have received
I am ashamed of.
Now, as I sit at the table,
Ah, ah, I pray that I not become a Judas
Lest I sell myself for a meal.
.
.
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by Poet, Chang, SeokJoo
The poet, Seok-Ju Chang, was born in Non-San, Chung-Cheong-Nam-Do, South Korea, in January 8, 1955. His first published
work was “Midnight” that he received new and emerging poet award from Monthly Literature in 1975. In 1979, he awarded his poem, “Fly, Gloomy Dream” in Chosun Il-Bo, Spring Literature and Dong-A-Il-Bo, Spring Literature, Critique, “Existence and Unrealism”.
Translated by Clara Soonhee Kwon-Tatum, Ph.D & Matthew Lewis, M.A
