The Poet’s Blind Spot

The poet, who is knowledgeable in abstract concepts, is taken to task for his ignorance of everyday things.

While shopping in the market
She asked to name a product

Unaware, I hid in silence
Not a word I had in defense

And then a voice spoke
In my utter rebuke

“You are versed well in thought
You quote well from the wise-lot

You seem to know much
Yet with nature out of touch

You poets speak
Of the rose and nightingale
Yet not a flower’s name
In the garden you can hail

You wander in the valleys
Of heavenly thoughts
Pity! You are strange
To the spring of life

Ignorant of the affairs
Of the earth you walk
Your heart is turned
To the world of vain talk

Hey Jaihoon!

I am mere servant of the Lord:
On the wisdom-clouds I haven’t rode
Yet I know the names
Of every eatable fruit”

Dec 10 2004. Edit March 2024