UNDER THE CHERRY TREE — MINYOUNG LEE

In response to the beloved Korean poem “Azaleas” by Kim Sowol, the first poem I was required to memorize in school, in which the poet translated themes(1) repeated in traditional Korean folk songs and poetry into the “modern” Western form that was introduced to the country during the Japanese Forced Occupation Period in the early 20th Century.(2)

A pink petal floating on the taut surface of snow. I crush it with my foot. The crunch of the frozen soil underneath as I sink into the earth, my femur mashing against my joints. I lean into the ball of my foot, until I feel the capillaries of the petal disintegrate, the cells holding onto one another minced into pulp. The petal there to mock me of my hope, fear, vanity. A forbidden dream. Flutter away like him. Into all the dirt underneath these crystals, flutter away like him. I feel the wet soak my sock. I taste sweet. I taste bronze.

(1) And I repeat, I love this original poem with all my heart, but perhaps a man interpreting how a jilted woman’s voice sounded like in Korean traditional poetry is different from how I, a woman, would have interpreted it.
(2) I also understand, as an occupied people, passivity is soothing.

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Minyoung Lee writes fiction and essays in Oakland, CA. Her work appears in Monkeybicycle, JMWW, trampset, and others. Minyoung is an alum of the Tin House Summer Workshop and VONA Summer Workshop. Her prose chapbook CLAIM YOUR SPACE was published by Fear No Lit Press in March 2020. Her website is https://myleeis.com/.