The Heart Breaks

Living and working in Korea isn't always
delicious food
adorable children
pampering haircuts and
festival adventures.

Sometimes it's discovering the
dirty little secrets
that make up a nation
a people
an individual.

It's learning about
suicides
shrouded by superstitions
of fan death
it's here, the heart breaks

about students
with disabilities
treated unfairly, as unworthy
such as dong-ghyu
it's here, the heart breaks

about husbands
and wives
living in separate cities
for the sake of a career
it's here, the heart breaks

about parents
and children
living in separate cities
for the sake of a career
it's here, the heart breaks
about the disappearance
of childhood
swallowed up by
the push and prod for
more and 'greater' education
it's here, the heart breaks

about discovering
we are all broken people
we are all breaking people
it's here, the heart breaks

(Typed while sipping Lichee Black Tea from a Brown Bone China mug)