FŪDO 023 · 1996 · Late Jeju · poem

Rough Sea, Wet Sky

거친 바다, 젖은 하늘

Basic information

Identifier	FŪDO 023
Title	Rough Sea, Wet Sky거친 바다, 젖은 하늘
Date	1996

Short commentary

The greatest forces fall silent before one small existence they cannot wholly overcome.

Artwork text · poem

Text by Byun Joung Hoon

The sea rises up.
Before the fate of a single skiff,
the sky, holding back its tears,
looks down.
The figure inside the house,
unable to bear the sight, crouches,
and the horse on the cape
cannot take its eyes
off the drifting boat.
The greatest things in the world,
unable to do anything
before the smallest one,
hold their breath.
By force,
the sea could swallow the boat.
But at heart,
unable to do anything for that one boat,
the sky weeps.
Before a single small being,
the sea, the sky, the earth
can do nothing.
Before the wind, the whole world,
for one moment,
stops breathing.
In every heart
there is a boat
it cannot take its eyes off.