Poem for Wednesday and McCrillis Azaleas

Chindallae-kkot (Azaleas)
By Kim So-Wol
Translated by An Sonjae

When you go away at last,
sickened with the sight of me,
know that I shall let you go,
saying nothing, make no fuss;

but climbing high on Yongpyon's hills,
there I'll pick azalea flowers,
armfuls of purple, just to spread
along the pathways as you go.

Then go, with muffled parting steps
trampling down those flowers you find
strewn before your departing feet;

and when you go away at last,
sickened with the sight of me,
know that for the life of me
I'll not shed tears then, no, not one.

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There are many other translations of this poem here. There don't appear to be any recently published translations of Kim So-Wol, but there is an older one at Amazon.com.

I got to have lunch with Gblvr, so it was a good Tuesday! And she brought me a present -- a silver hamsa from Israel, which is absolutely gorgeous. We met at the Corner Bakery, before which I walked around Washingtonian Lake where there were lots of geese and ducks and a green heron, plus still-blooming white azaleas. After we ate, we went to Bath & Body Works and Target, where I bought a Liberty of London pink umbrella to replace the big umbrella that got killed the last time my family was out in the rain. I wish they had the patterns I like in dress sizes I could wear but I'd have to cut eighteen inches above the lower hems.

In the afternoon I had to fold yesterday's laundry, so I did that while rewatching the Due South finale because I was having a craving for Ray K not knowing who he is without Fraser, which is one of my favorite TV scenes of all time, possibly even more so than Geoffrey saying goodbye to Oliver in Slings and Arrows. Glee managed not really to offend me this week, but -- small spoilers -- it also only really held my interest when Kristin Chenoweth was on screen or when Mercedes was singing; I really do not like Kurt, his level of selfishness makes Rachel and Noah seem empathetic, and I am completely bored with Will Schuester's post-marital angst. It was well worth watching for Sue getting credit for the opposite of everything she stands for, though, and for "the first-ever all-white production of The Wiz" and the song from it at the end.

I love when the Os beat the Yankees, so the evening ended well! And speaking of azaleas, here are some photos from McCrillis Gardens last weekend -- based on the rate of petals dropping in my front yard, I suspect these are the last few days to see this kind of color in the area.

















Best retweet I've seen all month, snicked from several people: "Conservatives cool with armed guards racially profiling people and demanding to see their papers, but HEALTH CARE reminds them of Nazis?"