I. SPRING
8. I drank and lay back;
the boat carried me down through the shallows.
Secure the boat, secure the boat!
Pink petals floated near;
Towŏn itself must have been near.
Chigukch'ong, chigukch'ong, ŏsawa!
Red dust of the world -
how far away it seemed.
II. SUMMER
10. I look for my snail-shell hut,
it is hidden in white clouds.
Tie the boat fast, tie the boat fast!
Exchange my rod for a bullrush fan
as we start to climb the rock-path.
Chigukch'ong, chigukch'ong, ŏsawa!
Did you think I lived idly?
This is a fisherman's life.
IV. WINTER
4. A silent snow fell last night,
so I woke to a bright new world.
Work the oars, work the oars!
A sea of glass surrounds me;
further on the jade mountains rise.
Chigukch'ong, chigukch'ong, ŏsawa!
Fairyland perhaps? Nirvana?
Surely not a world of men.