Jogyesa Temple Haikus

Harmonics 

Sparrows sing above,

Harmonized with cicadas,
A bow with each bell.

Symbiosis

Nature blends with man,
Tributes hang from the pine branch,
Hearts pressed to the ground.

Intangible 

Gold, gilded, guiding, 
Gazing down, sights set upward,
Breeze that carries faith.

Hot, Wet & Loud.

In the hot monsoon,

Drowned in wet concrete,

A city silenced. 

Outskirts from this platform

Each street, a new sight,

A maze of hieroglyphics,

A neon network.

Korea

It’s the wild wild east,
Where concrete and jungle meet,
Bloodsuckers, mosquitoes and gnats,
Foliage leaking between the cracks,
Farmland snuck into every free space,
Not a square foot can go to waste,
Nature preserved through cordoned off forests,
In which cicadas and crickets both sing in their chorus,
Pockets of paradise between each tower,
Air-conditioned and draining power,
Discordant aesthetics from city to town,
With air so humid that you could drown,
Concrete habitats stacked high for room,
Temples of gold where lotus’s bloom,
Stained shades of yellow, coating the greys,
Beneath them lie commerce in vibrant displays,
Peddlers push products while perched by the pavement,
While bikes run red lights each lacking in patience,
Cigarettes and soju stain to the throat,
On dust and smog the people choke,
Towering statues give tribute to saviors,
And a national pride which never wavers.