Nae sa-lang1
I want to seduce you
with gifts of Vincent's clouds
and handfuls of sweet red cherries
Together we'll float to the edge of sanity painting daisies inside Vincent's head
in a whirlwind of divine madness
But I know I'm deluded
to you I'm just a poor woodcutter climbing on a beanstalk
No No
I don't want to hear that story anymore
bring me Vincent's palette and his brushes
—Oh Vincent, Vincent my brother
how I'm missing you these days—
it's too late for me to listen
to the songs of nearly dead cicadas
Nae sa-lang
I want you with cherry juices
running down your little breasts
I want you in the frenzied greed
of poet's jasmine and in the gasping
breaths of your unsated night
I want you beyond your limits
and your cry, beyond your scream
and your whispers
because
I'm the sun-god
the priest of ritual madness
and you the Siberian Tiger prowling
in the virgin snow lands
1 My love in Korean
This poem is based loosely on a Korean tale of love:
A few words about the poem…
A Korean Mythology Poem: The Surrealist Interplay of Desire and Madness
The poem “The Fairy and the Woodcutter” unfolds as a surreal narrative infused with longing, madness, and a deep sense of yearning. The poem, set against the backdrop of a fairy tale in Korean Mythology, weaves an improbable love story where fantasy and reality intermingle, creating a world that is both elusive and evocative.
The poem begins with the speaker's attempt to entice his beloved with gifts that straddle the line between the ordinary and the extraordinary: "Vincent's clouds" and "handfuls of sweet red cherries." These offerings, rich in their allusion to Vincent van Gogh, imbue the verse with an ethereal quality, suggesting a love that is at once beautiful and impossible. The reference to van Gogh, a figure whose legacy is intertwined with genius and turmoil, adds layers of complexity to the speaker's intentions. The act of "painting daisies inside Vincent's head in a whirlwind of divine madness" further anchors the poem in a space where the creative process mirrors the unpredictable nature of love.
However, the poem does not dwell solely on the fantastical. The speaker recognises the futility of his pursuit, describing himself as "just a poor woodcutter climbing on a beanstalk," an allusion to the tale of Jack. This self-characterisation evokes a fairy tale of its own, hinting at a quest that is destined to fail. The beanstalk, a symbol of a reach beyond one's station, underscores the gap between the speaker's reality and his desires. The repetition of "No, No" signals a rejection of this reality, as he clings to the hope of a love that exists only in the realm of his imagination.
As the poem progresses, the speaker shifts from entreaty to a declaration of his identity, rejecting the narrative of the woodcutter in favour of something more profound. His call for "Vincent's palette and his brushes" reflects a desire to reshape the narrative, to create a new reality where this improbable love story could be realised. The invocation of van Gogh as a "brother" suggests a shared experience of anguish, a bond formed in the crucible of intense emotion and creative struggle.
The poem then takes a turn towards the visceral, as the speaker's desire becomes more immediate and corporeal. The repeated use of "Nae sa-lang" (my love) serves as a refrain that grounds the speaker's longing in a cultural context that remains subtly present throughout the poem. The images of "cherry juices running down your little breasts" and "the frenzied greed of poet's jasmine" introduce a sensuousness that borders on the primal. Here, the improbable love story moves beyond mere yearning, into the realm of obsession, where the lines between love and possession, reality and madness, blur.
In the poem's closing lines, the speaker embraces his role as "the sun-god, the priest of ritual madness," casting himself as a figure of both power and helplessness, enthralled by his own creation. The comparison of his beloved to a "Siberian Tiger prowling in the virgin snow lands" evokes an image of untamed beauty and strength, untouched and perhaps unreachably distant. This image, paired with the subtle refrain of "Nae sa-lang," hints obliquely at the cultural roots of the speaker's love, suggesting a connection to a distant and perhaps unreachable world.
The Fairy and the Woodcutter presents an improbable love story that delves into the complexities of desire, madness, and cultural memory. The speaker's journey from hopeful seducer to a figure caught in the thrall of his own imagination mirrors the timeless struggle between reality and fantasy. Through its layered imagery and delicate allusions, the poem explores how the pursuit of love can lead to both creation and destruction, leaving the reader to ponder the true nature of the speaker's love, which remains as elusive and enigmatic as the fairy tale that inspired it.
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