jasdooit

Stone Ear (石耳)

A blind rock, its mouth tightly closed,

strengthened its structure and produced thousands of ears.

At the edge of the cliff with nowhere to take cover, looking toward the peak,

it has long since given up its nomadic, uncertain perspective.

Wherever it quietly presented its curved spine,

flowing vertically, tautly scorched—

scraping the rock’s earflaps with delicate cartilage,

reading deafness like seaweed ears attached.

They move in any direction, listening—

that silent hearing.

Scaling a cliff that is a thousand units high without tumbling,

Its wail disappears into the mist.

It holds onto the quiet that follows.

-Kwon Seong-hoon (1970~)

Stone ear mushrooms look like human ears. They are also known as flowers that grow on steep cliffs. The poet refers to the stone ear as ears that have grown from the rock. The rock, with its mouth shut, stays quiet while having seaweed-like ears, listening to something. With a cliff stretching for a thousand lengths, the rock must have experienced numerous lightning strikes, thunder, intense heat, freezing temperatures, rainstorms, and snowstorms. Still, the poet sees the rock as having kept its core, achieving a state of peace and steadiness.

But what is it trying to listen for with “that silent hearing”? Maybe the pain and anguish resounding throughout the world. The stone, possessing a heart and ears attuned to the world’s noises, seems almost holy.