Seoul Poetry
서울시[1. Seoul Si, meaning “Seoul Poetry” or Seoul-si, meaning “Seoul City”]
Sam Moser
the train doors opened, yielding
the train doors opened, yielding
the day, splitting it open
like an overripe fruit,
spilling it out
over the city’s skeleton
of concrete bone
as the mad winds blew
as the quickening clouds coagulated, stirring
to wash the vomit (not mine,
of course, but a homeless man’s,
he, who shielded his eyes in shame
with a hand
and a bottle) by my shoe
as the hawkers sang weary
mantras for the sake
of a pair of sunglasses
and other things
as the monks beat wooden fish
their hollow knocks and holy
phonemes wrestling with the
universe to promote a pigeon
or two
and i, above all this, thought:
did i leave my
umbrella?
the music began on the way
the music began on the way
with the scratchy overtures
of the grandmother magpies
the stale cigarette sacrifices
on the wet blossom altars
in front of the bank
intrigued (or bored) i stopped
and squinted my eyes to listen (i
had left my sunglasses at home)
before me
a single chord emerges:
a new apartment building
Sam Moser is a 2014-2016 ETA at Soeui Elementary School in Seoul.