Shape of Eternity

Kyungnyun Kim Richards

If writing can be a continuation of reading,

teaching seems to be a continuation of learning.

Giving could be a continuation of taking,

dying must be a continuation of living.

Now that I see the connections, it seems that the world

is composed of complementation rather than contrast.

The symbol of tai-ch’i—the two twirly halves bound together in a circle, 

the yin and the yang in the center of the Korean flag—

makes some sense, doesn’t it?

Like the little fox stole that graced my mother’s shoulders,

the two little soft furry dead-but-real animals were biting

each other’s tail to form a ring.

A ring, a circle, a wheel,

an endless, therefore, beginningless

shape of eternity.

Nov. 5, 2010

김경년 Kyung-Nyun Kim Richards 시인/번역가

이화여대와 동대학원 불문과 졸업. U.C. 버클리 언어학 석사, 박사과정 수료. U.C. 버클리 한국어과 교수(1980-2008). 

윤동주 시선집 'Sky, Wind, and Stars (하늘과 바람과 별과 시)' 공역(2003), 차학경 원저 '딕테(Dictée)' 번역(1997), 김승희 시선집 'I Want to Hyjack an Airplane' 공역(2004), 윤후명 원저 'The Love of Dunhuang (둔황의 사랑)' 공역(2005), 시집 '달팽이가 그어 놓은 작은 점선' 출간(2010). 국제펜 39회 번역문학상 소설부문상(2006), 대한민국 국민훈장 동백장 수훈(2008), Translation Award, The First International Poetry Festival, Swansea, Wales(2011).