Mid-Autumn, Enjoying the Moon by Hyesim

 

If the luminous moon were a jade bead,

it could be stolen by those with power or position.

If the moon’s wheel-light on the water were taken as a pearl,

could it reflect on every humble mountain?

Poetry of Hyesim

Translated by: Ian Haight

Image by: Tony Warelius

Ian Haight has been awarded translation grants from the Daesan Foundation, Korea Literary Translation Institute, and the Baroboin Buddhist Foundation. He is the co-translator of Borderland Roads: Selected Poems of Kyun , and Zen Questions and Answers from Korea, both from White Pine Press. Poems, essays, and translations appear in Barrow Street, Writer’s Chronicle, and New Orleans Review. For more information please visit ianhaight.com.