It must be the same Sun that rises everyday but the rising Sun at New Year’s Day seems to be a different one to many people and they celebrate the sunrise and make a special wish.
A wise man divided one year into 365 days and said there are 12 months that repeat, the period matches perfectly and we just received another 365 days on this clean and new day in our hands.
What could be more precious gift than this?
When we talk about ‘becoming mature’, it may mean the moment we realise how precious time is, know time is life, regret the past where we have wasted time and use time in more precious, valuable and fruitful way.
I have written to my old beloved friends in the US with whom I go back 20 years via the internet and by hand written letters after I returned to Korea. Sometimes I handwrite or I type the same things on how I have been to many friends and make only little changes and variations depending on the characteristics and circumstances of person that I am writing to. They like the story about me and Korea, our home country so my friends faraway wait for my letters and ask me to send again and again
It was time consuming and I progressively developed a trick where I would write as if to, write a letter and news, by combining my life, the requested writing, my feeling and poetic inspiration together and a new genre of writing was born as a ‘culture essay in poetry’ and it seemed to save me a lot of time.
That is how ‘Sunshine Lee’s Culture Essay in Poetry’ was born, and it was welcomed not only by the Korean readers but also by fans and acquaintances of mine who I have sent Japanese translated copies to, after my collection of poems was published in Japan a few years ago. The number of readers increases day by day and this has become a big job
I receive generous comments from the readers and among them it was said, those little stories of mine encourage and comfort them, make their heart ache due to the story’s innocence, and inspires them to draw a painting as to make them eagerly wait for my writings to come through.
I read through last year’s culture essays as if I was reading my diary yesterday while I was closing the year.
The essays are the records of how I have lived my life to the full during the 365 days which are the presents that I had received
I started the essay to save my time and although it ended up consuming much longer hours and effort than before, I am comforted when they empathize with me saying that my publicly published mind diary comforts and helps them to live bright
Thanks to your encouragement and support “Sunshine Lee’s Culture Essay in Poetry” continues in the new year
As life does
The precious present I just recieved
I will record again
and
I will be comforted
Come, the New Year
That big present
