WINTERWALK

some things i learn
on a walk to the organic shop
and up to the top of seongmisan
the elegant-sounding saffron cafe lies abandoned
awaiting new ownership
what would it look like as a vegan cafe
serving hummus and salad sarnies and freh felafel?
seongmisan has its own natural spring
where local people come to fill up their plastic water bottles
just like in the olden days
the magpies have built exposed nests
high in the bare leafless trees
wouldn't like to bring up my children in that nursery!
from the summit of seongmisan
i suddenly notice quite a substantial mountain
rising up behind the brutal concrete monoliths of hongik university
must be the highest this side of ansan
how can i not have noticed it before
having lived in this 'gu' for over five years?
how come their are no hills in korea, for that matter?
only 'mountains', which are often less than 100m high
maybe 'san' translates as both
but koreans never seem to volunteer the word 'hill'
and perhaps 'hill' is over-suggestive of rolling cotswold meadows
rather than steep rocky granite peaks studded with pine
some things i learn
some things still to be learnt...