For everyone’s sake
(1953, Korea)
Bombardment: under the stubbornly stained darkness.
Fusillade: obstinately stuck ammunition in poor flesh, unrecognizably gored; disembodied.
Onslaught: butchery among you. If we had been born earlier, could we have been friends, the place regardless?
And, the separation.
He drew a line, and they proposed a meaning
for tranquility, for disabling the violence,
for everyone’s sake.
For some, it left the name to bury
in their heart, to chaperone until death, to embed
in the marrow and keep it as honorary.
Would the hollow be filled with the name aforesaid?
There, he drew a line,
for tranquility, for disabling the violence, for everyone’s sake.
For some, it left the memory painful: excruciating, agonizing
Enough to hope for the forgone.
Should I remember it beautifully despite the pain, rather than forgetting;
Becoming disembodied along the river, the infinite bygone?
And he drew a line,
for tranquility, for disabling the violence, for everyone’s sake.
For some, it left the instance of parting, the moment of their hand slipping
from whom they can rely upon
Has destiny found me wrong; I no longer remember the touch of your hand.
Or was I, encountered by the wrong destiny, forgone?
Still, he drew a line,
for tranquility, for disabling the violence, for everyone’s sake.
For some, it left a burning ember:
Inside the heart, though cannot assure
the eternity, still warmness would exist; remembered.
Would the land ever be united, for us and the youthful fervor?
Well, he drew a line
for tranquility, for disabling the violence, for everyone’s sake.
For some, it left the reputation, the name of a famous actor:
The actor in a silent movie, where everything sounds colorless,
everything smells silent, though the genre won’t be a disaster.
When would the actor halt his rudderless?
Some say the relationship is beautiful because it doesn’t last forever
well, I would rather choose to have an ugly one
that will last forever,
that won’t be separated beneath the line.
So, he drew a line
for tranquility, for disabling the violence, for everyone’s sake,
for sure.
He drew a line
for tranquility, for disabling the violence, for everyone’s sake,
and that's for sure.
Writer: Yeyoung Jeon (Lina)
