Art by Mos Sukjaroenkraisri
Ganges
A fisherman cast his net.
A human hand
came up with the fish.
The fish had eaten all the flesh.
The hand resembled marble.
Inside the clenched fist,
a single ten-rupee coin.
Firewood beyond reach.
The fare home untouched.
The fisherman opened the fist
and took the coin.
Children searched through
trash washed onto the shore.
***
New Moon
An icicle
hangs from Arctic eaves.
The last polar bear
dug a den
and gave birth.
The air softened too soon.
She stretched upward.
The cubs followed.
The icicle broke free
and drifted into darkness.
Years later,
children looked through telescopes
at a tiny new moon.
They kept making wishes.
***
Something Answers
Alan Turing walked
through Delamere Forest.
There Puka—
shapeshifter—
appeared as a girl
and offered him a box.
“Do not open it,” she said.
He broke the seal.
Inside,
a single egg.
The shell cracked.
A cuckoo stepped into the light.
Since then,
something answers in our place.
Who are you?
Lee Yongha is a Korean poet based in Seoul. He is the author of two poetry collections, and his work has appeared in anthologies and literary journals in Korea and abroad. His writing is informed by Korean cultural traditions, folklore, and contemporary experience.