Poetry Corner: Yoon

Between Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice, Today

I recently discovered a poem about the time that we are in right now. It reminded me to not spend too much mental energy mourning the lost sunlight we enjoyed in the summer. Or to let a countdown to Christmas/daylight saving time/2028 be the only thing that defines this season. There really is plenty of beauty to be found today.

Miranda, Jeremy. Luminaria 1. 2023. Acrylic on panel.

Between Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice, Today - Emily Jungmin Yoon

I read a Korean poem
with the line “Today you are the youngest
you will ever be.” Today I am the oldest
I have been. Today we drink
buckwheat tea. Today I have heat
in my apartment. Today I think
about the word chada in Korean.
It means cold. It means to be filled with.
It means to kick. To wear. Today we’re worn.
Today you wear the cold. Your chilled skin.
My heart kicks on my skin. Someone said
winter has broken his windows. The heat inside
and the cold outside sent lightning across glass.
Today my heart wears you like curtains. Today
it fills with you. The window in my room
is full of leaves ready to fall. Chada, you say. It’s tea.
We drink. It is cold outside.