Hello, Fiddlehead!
You slept so soundly all winter long, tucked under a soft blanket of white snow.
Now, at the warm whisper of spring sunshine, you’ve awakened.
After those long months, unable to emerge from your cozy home,
my heart flutters to see you, so beautifully adorned, making your
grand debut.
Is it because of memories of foraging for naengi (냉이)and ssuk(쑥) in Korea when I was little?
Is it because I first saw you here in Houlton over a decade ago?
Is it because I gather you with people who love you, clean you, and share you with others?
Is it because I boast about you to new residents, proud to live in a town where you grow?
Is it because I married my beloved in
May, the very month you appear?
Like a shy new bride, you can’t lift your head, twisting and turning for a long time.
Then, as if draped in a sheer, translucent fabric, you hide behind brown leaves.
Clustering together, huddling close, like acorns measuring their height,
Day by day, you slowly, steadily push your head out,
crying, "I am here! I am here!"
You, growing by the roadside next to rough, unmarred grass, are like a small, adorable candy.
You, clinging to the slopes, refusing to slip, are like the mint my grandmother enjoys.
You, alone in a quiet spot, bathed in sunlight, with a stem as muscular as my son’s arm, are like a rather large lollipop.
You, bravely pushing through thorny bushes, boldly raising your head, are like a medal around an Olympian's neck.
You, fighting the darkness
under a fallen tree, growing between withered, spiky branches, are like a
warrior.
The one who bravely fought and endured winter.
The one who battled darkness and emerged as the light of the world.
The one who bore the wounds of thorns and rose above them.
The one who, grateful for times of obscurity, now greets us with direct eye contact.
The one made more beautiful
by all suffering and adversity.
Your presence brings us joy.
Your growth becomes hope for our children.
Your taste nourishes both our bodies and our souls.
Our brief few weeks with you have become precious memories.
Your story becomes our story.
안녕? 피들헤드야!
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