Interview of Crying Nut

Listened to them since 2004. 

So grateful for them to continue on.

사명

한밤중 해변을 촛불로 밝히려면

아마도 혼자서 절대로 못하겠지

여럿이 모여서 초 들고 서있어도

불씨가 없이는 시작도 못하겠지

바람이 불어서 촛불이 꺼졌을 때

모여서 불 붙일 시간도 헌신하고

서로의 불빛이 환하게 빛나는지

따뜻한 관심과 대화로 확인하며

동트는 아침이 오기를 소망하자

어두운 해변을 촛불로 밝혀보자

이상형

풍랑에도 서로 맞잡은

두 손을 놓지 않으리라

믿어줄 수 있는 사람

비올때 내가 젖더라도

지키고 싶은 따스함을 

간직하고 있는 사람

내 곁에서 환한 미소로

마음에 드리운 그늘을 

밝혀줄 수 있는 사람

Why I Write

[Given prompt, 15 minutes of free writing, 15 minutes of developing, and a final editing]

I believe that most of us have been taught somewhere along the years of our education the Theory of Evolution. I don't recall the full details of it, but what I got out of that theory is that creatures live to survive and reproduce; to leave pieces of their genes to persist in this world.

It seems that we do the same. We want our existence to be immortal and stand against time, but we know that it can't be achieved physically. So we wish to leave our actions or names to be remembered by each other in some form. Like an old Korean proverb, "A tiger leaves its skin, while a man leaves his name," we leave pictures, monuments, photographs, and any forms of art for the people we care about or for reference to ourselves in the future. Through our writings, our personal thoughts and ideas come to life and who knows? The remnants of our minds may eventually survive, be remembered, and persist in their form as writings.

It is as though our minds are also bound to the rules of that theory to live and survive in order to persist.

The Discharge

Prompt: Begin or end with the sentence: 

"He stepped into the morning light." 

(No time limit)

     His wife was with him in the hospital. His sons and daughters visited him from time to time with their kids. He could not speak nor move from his bed anymore. A urinary catheter hung next to him. The term, "pancreatic cancer" must have been something he barely heard of before. Despite his wife's zealous prayers, which saved him from the casualties of the Vietnam War according to his wife's belief, he knew his time has come.

     Recovering his Korean name from the Japanese, the Korean War that took his father's life away, the face of my grand mother in her youth, the ups and downs of his mining industry, allowing my father to study abroad in the United States, or perhaps even me at the age of 9, who refused to kiss him on his cheek, despite of my father's coaxing in the hospital; God knows what flashed before my grand father when he drew his last breath that night?

He stepped out into the morning light.

Prompt Exercise 1: "The Door Snapped Shut"

The following is from a prompt exercise I wrote in class for 10 minutes.

Prompt: Begin or finish with the following sentence: The door snapped shut.

The door snapped shut.

He was free now. The flight was going to be long, and the break was going to be too short.

The thoughts of seeing his familly, petting his dog, drinking with his friends all night, and being totally immune to any forms of stress for 2 weeks were overwhelming.

"It's the most wonderful time of the year" kept ringing in his ear.

Indeed, the shutting of the door signalled the beginning of the most wonderful time of the year.

"The next time that door snaps shut, however, will mean something very different," he thought.

Objective in Life 1

To deliver happiness to those who have contributed to the story of my life.