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The Rock

When I die, I wish to be a rock and stand,

Unstained by any tint of compassion,

Unmoved by any sorrow or any joy,

Lashed by the wind and rain,

Whipped inward, ever inward,

Muted by a million years of inhumanity,

Till my life passes ino oblivion,

Becoming a floating cloud,

A thunder faraway.

I wish to be a rock,

Though dreaming, singing no song;

Though cleft in two,

Enduring it in silence.

-류치환 Lew Chi Whan (1908-1967)

Translated by Kim Seung Kyu