Testimonial, and: Verse of Snow

Abstract

Testimonial, and: Verse of Snow Lee Okbong (bio) and Suphil Lee Park (bio) A bowl is my mirror as I wash my faceI comb my hair with water in lieu of oilIf I’m as different as can be from JiknyeoHow would my betrothed be Gyeonwu ________ My mirror, a bowlCombing oil, waterI am not JiknyeoMarried to Gyeonwu ________ WashFaceBowlServeMirrorCombHeadWaterMakeOilIFateNotWeaveWomanHusbandHowEqualLeadCattle [End Page 51] Verse of Snow No matter this traveler shuts outAll of the world left behindFor no matter tattered clothes or tearsThere’s no way for me to returnClouds flap like sailsOver this deep mountain roadGusts of wind send snowflakesHigh up in the sky like dustWild geese drop to the banksOf water white not with sandBright windows frighten meWith an illusion of sudden dawnToday Gangnam must be abloomAlready with plum flowersFar on the horizon how many treesMust be showing the spring [End Page 52] Lee Okbong Lee Okbong (이옥봉 / 李玉峰) was a sixteenth-century Korean poet born to a courtesan mother. Even though she was an illegitimate child, she received her formal name, Okbong (玉峰, meaning “jade summit”), from her father. After her first husband died a year into their marriage, Lee met her second husband, who accepted her on the condition that she no longer write poetry. After her poem “Testimonial” made her a controversial figure, her husband sent her into exile. She disappeared around the time of the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592), and Jibong Yuseol (지봉유설 / 芝峰類說) records that she was found dead on a Chinese shore, wrapped up in hundreds of sheets of paper with poems written all over them, signed with her name. Suphil Lee Park Suphil Lee Park (수필리박 / 秀筆李朴) is the author of the poetry collection Present Tense Complex, winner of the Marystina Santiestevan Prize (Conduit Books & Ephemera, 2021), and a poetry chapbook, Still Life, selected by Ilya Kaminsky as the winner of the Tomaž Šalamun Prize, forthcoming from Factory Hollow Press. Born and raised in South Korea before finding home in the States, she holds a BA in English from NYU and an MFA in poetry from the University of Texas at Austin. Her translations have appeared or are forthcoming in Bennington Review, the Cincinnati Review, and the Los Angeles Review, among others. You can find more about her at suphil-lee-park.com. Footnotes Note: This poem is considered one of those written by Lee in isolation and homesick after her husband sent her into exile because of the incident with her poem “Testimonial.” Note: Written sometime in the sixteenth century, “Testimonial” is literally a testimonial poem that Lee wrote in support of a poor man who was falsely accused of stealing an ox, when his illiterate wife came looking for help. The “I” in this poem is the accused’s wife, as Lee is speaking on behalf of her. Gyeonwu in the poem is a famous mythological figure who stole an ox in a version of a well-known Asian legend, and Jiknyeo, his fairy wife. Upon receiving Lee’s testimonial poem, the judge of the case looked into what happened and subsequently released the man. This incident became widespread gossip. When Lee’s husband heard about this, however, he became enraged, as Lee had promised to wash her hands of the unwomanly art of poetry writing when she married him. Offended by her temerity, the husband sent Lee into exile soon afterward. Lee lived the rest of her life in exile. Copyright © 2022 Middlebury College