My only claim to college literature is that I kept company with the “hip” crowd discussing Sartre, Rimbaud and Tagore. 🙂  I merely sponged off other people’s brains and soaked in their ideas. Nowadays, we say, “Pass me the popcorn” when we’re about to witness fireworks during a debate.  But back in those days, we said, “Un café, s’il vous plait,” as we watched fellow students argue the meaning of life till early morning.

Fortunately for non-literary people like me, the poems used here in this kdrama aren’t meant just for deep-thinking students of literature. The verses in A Poem a Day are accessible. They aren’t the intimidating, high form of poetry; they’re written for common folks, like you and me. Their meaning doesn’t get lost in the translation … or in the drama.

Take for instance the poem in Episode 4 “Standing Close” by Ki Sa In.

Standing Close
by Ki Sa In

Her bent back collects newspapers and cardboard boxes
Her work pants are loose on her shrunken body
When a car enters the alley, she stands close to the side.
With her small cart which is her only flesh and blood
Standing close in solitude
Like a spider on a dirty cement wall
Like an old sting ray at the bottom of a water tank.
Standing low and close to a gray wall.

Once the car passes, the grandmother who was like crinkled paper
Slowly straightens out again.
The cart’s wheels follow her at her heels like young goats.
If I think about the worn out television that will turn on in that room
If I think about the tilted sink, pots, and pans
And the bent back that will stand in front of it.
I choke up.
If I think about the rag in the corner which she has probably wrung out

Of course, you can choose any which way you want to interpret this poem. But for me, it’s this way:

The poem describes a bystander’s reaction to a grim scene he’s witnessing up close. He’s struck by the hard struggles of living. When he imagines the empty and dreary scene that awaits this lonely grandmother when she gets home, he’s choked up with sadness.

As JooYong JooYong would say as he watched DefCon pretend to have friends, “It’s heartbreaking.”

To me, the poem signals the message of the episode, that life is heartbreaking… until you stand up close… and realize that no! life is, in fact, heartwarming. Even in the most heartbreaking of moments, there exists in people, a sense of goodness and kindness that’s heartwarming.

And uplifting. 🙂

In this episode, JooYong JooYong was the first to discover this truth after spending a day with Defcon in the rural area.

From the start of this episode, he pitied Defcon because of his friendless state. He thought Defcon was pathetic. “Like a spider on a dirty cement wall, like an old sting ray at the bottom of a water tank,” Defcon hung around his colleagues but remained solitary. He was obviously an outsider.

But then slowly JYJY’s perspective  changed as he observed Defcon’s interaction with the community’s crazy grandfather. Defcon humored that old man, first pretending to be the long-lost brother then the dead father. At the end of the day, he gave the old man a piggy ride back to his home, cleaned the floor, made dinner and fixed the lights.

Defcon recognized himself in that old man. He saw in that old man’s solitude a preview of his future lonesome world and his heart became heavy. The grandfather was a kindred soul.

However, standing close to Defcon, JYJY was seeing another thing. He realized that Defcon wasn’t someone to be pitied but to be admired. Defcon wasn’t heartbreaking but heartwarming. 

JYJY’s newfound insight was repeated by three other characters in the story, namely BoYoung, Doctor Ye, and, curiously enough, MinHo.

The discovery was most obvious in BoYoung’s case. 😀

BoYoung helped out the grandmother because she felt sorry for her. The grandmother was the living representation of the grandmother in the poem: Her hunched back. Her shrunken body. Collecting recyclable cardboard. Standing against the wall as a car passed her by. Wheeling her heavy cart behind her.

Just like JooYong JooYong stood near Defcon, BoYoung followed closely behind the grandmother to help push the loaded cart. Likewise, she discovered that the grandmother wasn’t one to be pitied. The grandma’s hard life wasn’t heartbreaking but uplifting.

Why?

Because when the old lady arrived home, there was somebody eagerly waiting to greet and hug her: her granddaughter. Suddenly, the sad image of a lonely figure trudging up the hill with the cart of cardboard was upended. It wasn’t so sad at all. The grandma had someone at the end of her journey. She was enduring and sacrificing for someone she loved very much but THAT person loved her back wholeheartedly.

Thus, the scene BoYoung witnessed was a heartwarming moment.

Little did she know that her time with the grandma was being observed. After she turned to leave the grandmother, she saw Dr. Ye emerging from the shadows. He too was standing close – just like the bystander in the poem.

BY: I said I’d only show you my good side but all I did was show you my ridiculousness.
Dr: I already saw a lot of your good side.
BY: Pardon?
Dr: AS I already said, there’s no Ye Line. But if ever I did look after you, just as the others have said, this is why: Because I know you always treat your patients with kindness and sincerity. You even helped that grandmother just now.
BTW, I enjoyed the poetry you sent me. I felt cheered up after reading such good poetry.
BY: Pardon? Really? I thought you were angry because you didn’t respond.
Dr: Oh. I just forgot to respond.
BY: Oh! You didn’t ignore my text on purpose? You felt happy after reading my poetry??

He saw her struggling with her job, in the same way the grandmother struggled with her cart. 😀 Who wouldn’t? All day long BoYoung looked inept and clumsy. First, bringing the bread crust instead of the sandwiches, then falling on his lap, then looking like she went through hell after chasing the chickens, and finally getting berated by a doctor.

Like the grandmother in the poem, she worked so hard with little success to show for her efforts.

But instead of seeing her as a loser, Doctor Ye noted her kindness and sincerity. He knew she wasn’t someone to be pitied but someone to be praised and commended. That was why a “Ye Line” was unnecessary. A Ye Line is only solicited by those who needed to curry favors. She didn’t need to stand in line for any favors because she could STAND on her own MERITS.

Now, do you see the parallelism between BoYoung and Defcon? 🙂

BoYoung was to Doctor Ye what Defcon was to JYJY. Both their goodness was heartwarming and inspiring. And just like JYJY’s approval and offer of friendship made Defcon ecstatic with joy, so did Doctor Ye’s words – AND positive response to her poems – give her unbounded happiness. She was skipping right behind Doctor Ye like Defcon was running to hug JYJY.

And when Doctor Ye saw her shadow skipping right beside him, he smiled. It was just so like BoYoung to show her happiness with much exuberance, and little restraint. Whether drunk or sober, she showed her real joyful self.

Which brings me finally to MinHo.

He hates poetry. — Or perhaps (you know how kdrama works by now…) he liked it when he was little but he had a traumatic experience with it (i.e., gotten bullied at school or scolded by parent). 😂

Unlike Doctor Ye, who is outwardly aloof but secretly sensitive (and you know how kdrama works by now…), MinHo makes it clear that he considers poetry trashy. He belittles BoYoung’s love for poetry. And he considers her 1. sentimentality, 2. her tears, 3. efforts to please Doctor Ye, and 4. generally everything about her, over-the-top and unnecessary.

To me then, it’s fascinating to watch him STANDING CLOSE to BoYoung because he begins to understand her. If you watch that scene again at the dining table when the therapists all are gathered to talk about the doctor who shouted at BoYoung, you’ll notice that MinHo’s observing her reactions. Every time the others say something hurtful, he glances at BoYoung. He knows that she’s feeling sad. Actually, more than sad. She looks weary and downtrodden.

Like the old grandmother in the poem.

For BoYoung, everything is an uphill climb and hard work without encouragement, appreciation or companion.

I think that for an insensitive guy, Minho’s actions are very considerate. He searches for her, offers his jacket, zips her up, and surprises with her a can of beer and a snack of (I’m guessing what that atrocious thing was) dried squid.

Metaphorically, Minho offers to “carry the cart” for her to lighten her load. Did she want him to talk with the grandma or talk with the doctor? he asks her. 🙂 That’s sweet gesture, given that he’s only an intern and that he has no real authority.

Then, as he watches her run off to help the grandmother, it dawns on him that she has no problems looking good in front of her.

See that?

Despite his annoyance at her going out of the way to help out people, being a push-over, displaying mawkish emotions, AND crying like a baby at the slightest occasion, he likes her. She looks neither heartbreaking nor heartwarming to him. Interestingly, he likes her because she makes him laugh.

To me, the WHOLE episode very subtly revolves about the poem. But I doubt the viewers caught it right away. 😀 It’s freaking genius of the writer, and I would gladly drink gallons of coffee to discuss this show over and over again.

 

Edited to add this: I haven’t written up Episode 3. I’ll devote it to writing up a character analysis…bitch style. 😉