한강물 얼고, 눈이 내린 날
강물에 붙들린 배들을 구경하러 나갔다.
훈련받나봐, 아니야 발등까지 딱딱하게 얼었대.
우리는 강물 위에 서서 일렬로 늘어선 배들을
비웃느라 시시덕거렸다.
한강물 흐르지 못해 눈이 덮은 날
강물 위로 빙그르르, 빙그르르.
웃음을 참지 못해 나뒹굴며, 우리는
보았다. 얼어붙은 하늘 사이로 붙박힌 말들을.
언 강물과 언 하늘이 맞붙은 사이로
저어가지 못하는 배들이 나란히
날아가지 못하는 말들이 나란히
숨죽이고 있는 것을 비웃으며, 우리는
빙그르르. 올 겨울 몹시 춥고 얼음이 꽝꽝꽝 얼고.

The Han River froze,
and snow came down.
We went out
to see the boats
held fast by the river.
“Maybe they’re in training.”
“No—
they say the ice has hardened
all the way over their feet.”
Standing on the frozen river,
we snickered and laughed
at the boats lined up in a row.
The Han River could no longer flow.
Snow covered its silence.
Round and round,
round and round on the ice—
unable to hold back our laughter,
we tumbled over ourselves,
and then we saw them:
words—
or perhaps horses—
fixed fast
between the frozen layers of sky.
Between the frozen river
and the frozen heavens
pressed tightly against each other,
the boats stood side by side,
unable to row away.
The horses stood side by side,
unable to fly away.
The words stood there too,
unable to leave the mouth.
All of them
holding their breath.
And we laughed at them,
turning round and round.
This winter is terribly cold.
The ice freezes hard—
solid, harder still,
bang,
bang,
bang.