Kiss Mark
*By Choi Jeong-ran*
If my flower-blooming twenty could come again
I want to wear a polka-dot dress and visit
Beneath the cherry blossom tunnel with swelling buds
To meet the young man in yellow-green uniform
On my still-maiden slender long neck,
Could I receive the stamp of first lips
Innocently my collarbones shy and radiant
My lips and body trembling
A season too early to open the door
Longing more tender than the body
The dark blue place where the heart of the sea passed
The bruise marks of clumsy, fresh youth
Wrapped and hidden with a ribbon-white handkerchief
Could I, unknown to anyone, cross
The pink borderline of that faraway twenty
---
Now is exactly that time. The entire land is covered with cherry blossom tunnels. Pink borderlines divide mountains and fields. Uniforms of yellow-green and deep green color the mountains. There was a time when cherry blossoms were avoided as a symbol of Japanese influence. But now, people no longer seem to apply national borders to flowering trees. This may be partly because the king cherry tree native to Jeju Island was discovered, but more likely because we have recovered a cultural self-confidence that is no longer psychologically constrained. Somewhere, pink petals are falling into the heart of the sea. Often, dreams that cannot be fulfilled are more beautiful.
