Born 30 days apart in the early 90's,
musical fan and blue dragon holder,
you fought parental disapproval to
fulfill your dreams on the big-screen.

South Korea to renowned global acclaim,
Jessica's Jingle infected Western culture.
And yet your name remains underground
in towns and cities throughout this land.

Park So-dam. I write as my ink dries up and
the world scratches my head with a coin.
If I ever escape the fate of my own family,
I'll start a fan club for you in Chicago, Illinois.

The first snow
is falling in Borimsa,
a quiet temple
at the foot of Gaji Mountain,
as we stand near the two stone pagodas
that silently standing side by side.
"Oh, the first snow!
And I'm here with you...," you said.  
I smile.
Because I remember all you've said about the Korean saying...

The first snow
is falling in Borimsa,
as the true love starts blooming
in two hearts.  

Inside the temple,
the Buddha's statue
is waiting for two hearts
to pray in quiet words,
and send the love song
through the gentle wind
to the eternity.

-Kanya Puspokusumo-
http://doeniadevi.wordpress.com

1. Borimsa, one of the oldest Korean temples on Gaji mountain in Jangheung-gun, Jeollanam-do, South Korea (about 300 km from Seoul). The temple holds great significance as the first Zen buddhist temple during unified silla, built in the 9th century.

2. In Korea, there is a saying that if you are out in the first falling snow of the year with someone you like, then true love will blossom between you.

I was waiting for
the last train to my home,
But it never came.
The night was cold,
Even though the winter had not come yet.
No one there.
Nothing there,
But the cold tracks
And the silent platform.
The air refused to speak to me,
Even to say "sshh" through the wind.
I was completely alone.

I wished you had been there
standing before me
and warmed my heart
with the fire of your love.
So, I could throw the handful of tears into that fire
And let go away all the sadness.

But I was completely alone.
No one there.
Nothing there,
But the cold tracks
And the silent platform.
And the air also refused to speak to me,
Even to say "sshh" through the wind...

KANYA PUSPOKUSUMO
2017
Instagram @kanya.puspokusumo
http://doeniadevi.wordpress.com/

*Andong is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is about 200 km from Seoul.
It is known as the most Korean place in Korea, and the "Capital City of Korean Spiritual Culture", with many aspects of the Korean traditional cultures throughout the past 2,000 years.

There was a time
when I blocked my face
with two palms,
only to avoid seeing the world.
But the two palms can only block
the world in my eyes,
not the world in my heart.
The world in my heart
is always too big
to be blocked by the palms.
Especially when there is you in it.

You...
smiling and offering the love
that reminds me
to the most delicious
Korean persimmons
in Autumn season.

(Now I start to feel that without you,
Seoul is nothing but an empty city,
and the world is nothing but an empty place).

-Kanya Puspokusumo-
http://doeniadevi.wordpress.com