we drove to south hadley to hear ocean;
more accurately, you drove us there
in the car you had rented
and after some time
we were drowsy and had to pull up
to kiss and buy coffee
and french fries from mcdonalds.

on our way back to boston
we fought about something,
and it rained like the sky was ripped open
by our rage, our words.
we were serious and upset
about nothing we remember now.

later that evening we walked
some rich man’s dogs
in the brownstones in brighton
and by the time we got home
we were kissing and talking
about south hadley and ocean.

Jaewuk Kim is a Ph.D. student in East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Southern California. His research interests lie in modern and contemporary South Korean avant-garde literature and film, particularly with a focus on Dadaism and Surrealism. He is the author of “Surrealistic Science Fiction in South Korean Film and Fiction” (part of USC Libraries’ Digital Exhibition, Science Fiction in Korea: Between History, Genre, and Politics) and the translator of Yi Seong-bok’s poetry in Azalea: Journal of Korean Literature and Culture 15 (University of Hawai’i Press, 2022).

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