The Fisherman's Calendar by Yun Sondo - HTML preview

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NOT KEEPING THE RHYME
(Seven character, P’agyŏk)




The pun on the sound of the stick in line four is difficult to convey in English. The final phrase (ip-kong-t’ae) breaks down into ip meaning set or set down, kong meaning stick and t’ae meaning beans. In Korean k’ong is the word for beans, the sound of which generates the onomatopoeic effect of the tap of the stick on the ground.



Spring ch’un is not among the rhymes of head tu:

the man who called out the rhyme is a dickhead.

Famished days are many, full days are few.

I reach the gate and bang my stick—kung!—on the ground.