February 2021
Bio Note: I'm a retired English Professor spending my time writing, taking the occasional
photograph, trying to follow the Dharma. In 2020, I had two full-length poetry collections published:
Time is Not a River and Morning Calm (both available on Amazon).
I Have Learned the Korean Alphabet
I have learned the alphabet: Hangul, a phonetic system, and practice sounding out the words though their meaning, elusive as the white crane in the northern marshes, slips through my fingers like the mist before the morning rain. I have learned the words for polite conversation, to say excuse me or I am sorry, hello, thank you, and sleep well; I know how to say I am hungry, I am full, I am tired, I am in love with your hair, your skin, your eyes— every morning I taste your lips searching for the connection between symbol and sound silence and flesh, drawing the letters in the air as if language was the fabric of touch.
Originally published in 4th and Sycamore, 2018. Also included in my book
Morning Calm, 2020.
©2021 Michael Minassian
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It is very important. -JL