Heinz Insu Fenkl
myself: Auxilio Lacouture* a sijo for Roberto Bolaño You in jail, papers prepared, and loneliness the first few hours.I believed dreams, not nightmares— transparent, safe, cold, bright blue sky.That morning, back against the wall, my eyes asleep—and I hid In my stall: epiphany, little window, high clouds—and poems.I would’ve liked to write them, but I didn’t. I thought, “You fool,You’ve dreamed, dreamed, such a pretty book of avant-garde poetry.” *All words are taken sequentially, though not necessarilycontiguously, from page 203 of The Savage Detectives. Occurrence at Owl Rock(6:40 a.m., Saturday, May 23, 2009) for Roh Moo-hyun Too many people suffer because of me; I no longersymbolize the values that you pursue. You should discard me. The rest of my life will be just a burden to others. I have lost my health; I cannot do anything. I cannot readbooks, cannot write. No sorrow. No blame. It is all just karma—life and death are nature’s fractals. Raise me a stone near my home. *All words are taken from media accounts of Roh Moo-hyun’sapparent suicide. He was the 9th president of South Korea. What the Buddha Said to Jim Morrison When the light falls dimly through the shuttered leaves of autumn sky,When the wind blows cold and dark, when crows’ wings blot out the starlight,Come to me—into the refuge— and I will light your fire. Heinz Insu Fenkl, born in 1960 in Bupyeong, Korea, is a novelist, translator, and editor. His autobiographical novel, Memories of My Ghost Brother, was named a Barnes & Noble “Discover Great New Writers” selection in 1996 and a PEN/Hemingway Award finalist in 1997. His most recent translation, Yi Mun-yol’s short story, “An Anonymous Island,” was published in the September 12, 2011 issue of The New Yorker.