This is not a poem about a taxi, as the title may suggest, but rather a quick rendering of a laminated Korean poem hung on the seat of a taxi I was in the other day. Mostly I was just happy that I could read it (though in retrospect, it is rather simplistic), but I also found it to be a little more accessible than other Korean poetry, which from what I've seen is comparable to Japanese haikus in terms of descriptions of nature and (for me) emotional impotence. Enjoy.
There was an empty bowl.
Some child came and
put water into the bowl.
So it became a water-bowl.
But then some other child came and
put garbage into he bowl.
The bowl instantly became a garbage can instead.
One day, some child took out the garbage and
planted a beautiful flower in the bowl.
The bowl became a beautiful flowerpot.
That's how it is.
Depending on what is put in, the name of the bowl changes.
Think about it quietly.
What do we need to put in our hearts?
I think the comments section on this one should be dedicated to answering that last question. I sense some good joke potential...
