Sijo Poetry…
Three interesting things about sijo poetry…
A few interesting, helpful facts about sijo poetry…
1) Sijo (shee-jo) poetry originates from Korea (14th century).
2) It’s syllabic poetry written to create the rhythm of a song-like quality to it; almost like a meditation that can be read and reread. Originally, it was called sijo-change (song).
3) In 2011, sijo poetry was added to the UNIESCO list of Cultural Assets of Humanity to bring awareness and appreciation to this beautiful cultural expression.
Sijo poetry is like haiku poetry in the sense that it is poetry inspired by syllabic verse. Haiku poetry is composed of 17 total syllables, whereas sijo poetry is a little longer in length at around 44-46 total syllables. Both are written in three sentences although because sijo poetry is a little longer, it translates to two lines per sentence when it is written in English. The beauty of sijo poetry is how words naturally flow through the music of syllable breaks. It naturally encourages one to look at an old world through renewed eyes. It’s a completely different way to connect to the sound of words, especially how vowel sounds determine where to break words in English.
This style of poetry is unique to Korea’s history. Sijo poetry is like a song from the heart. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just sincere. It’s almost like a bird song. Their songs aren’t long or detailed. Bird songs are short and to the point, yet they can capture so much emotion within those few short bars of music. That is exactly what sijo poetry is about. It’s a song about life written in three lines based around the rhythm created through the way words sound when they don’t purposefully rhyme.
At the same time, language is like a moving brook. Even a slow-moving brook has movement to it, as the water flows over small rocks and pebbles. Along the way, those rocks and pebbles help to give the brook its unique musical rhythm. If the brook represents the flow of words, then sijo poetry is like a leaf floating on the water of the brook.
For the first line, it is written in a syllable count of 3, 4, 4, 4.
The second line repeats the first line of 3, 4, 4, 4. Thus, mirroring the flow of the brook.
The third line is where the flow of the water hits a rock and interest is created in your story because the syllable arrangement is 3, 5, 4, 3. The second word in the third line must be five syllables since that helps to break the flow of the poem’s overall rhythm. This strategic element must be present in authentic sijo poetry.
Therefore, the first two lines develop the story, and the third line juxtaposes the overall theme by showcasing something from a unique perspective, or in a way that we haven’t considered before. A way that somehow catches us by surprise, making the overall story more memorable and enjoyable for your audience.
The brilliance of sijo poetry is that it forces us to look at both our problems and challenges through a new focus point. When we change the way we perceive things, the things that we focus on change, too, since life is interconnected. A change in our perspective is a change in life’s presentation of our problems because it is all interconnected through life’s unity that keeps all life in place, including our perceptions and viewpoints. Sijo poetry helps to develop our heart’s inner beauty because it helps us to become more aware of the beautiful things in our outer world that’s continuously flowing past us like a moving brook.
Sijo poetry helps us to dial into life, and that is its greatest gift of introspection. A tool that has been part of Korea’s culture for over 600-years.
If it is hard to write sijo poetry, turn your poem into a haiku poem. Once you’ve established the direction of your poem’s focus, see if you can rewrite it using the syllabic rhythm of…
3, 4, 4,4
3, 4, 4, 4
3, 5, 4, 3
SIJO # 306: TO BLOOM FOR 100 YEARS…
Peonies bloom…for 100 years,
because they know that life is hard.
That doesn’t stop…them from living,
learning to grow through life’s hailstorms.
To hand draw…their own petals new,
through their heart’s nerve, to live more.
H. L. Balcomb
— when times get tough, live deeper, even if it means to hand draw your own petals new until new ones regrow: a lesson from peony flowers — if we wish to bloom for over 100 years (longevity of their blooming potential).
[sijo poem inspired from Seoul To Soul, novel]
Side note, in South Korea, peony flowers are associated with prosperity, and they are often called “King of Flowers” for a reason, the will to survive for longevity.
Seoul To Soul
Non-fiction stories with poetry
April 7, 2025
481
Nabi, an 18-year-old soon-to-be high school graduate, feels a nameless aching for something that she can’t describe through words. She only knows that this longing is somehow connected to the story of her birth. As a Korean American adoptee, she wants to return to the place and space of her birth; however, culturally, she feels lost.
Although her adoptive mother has gone out of her way to encourage her to reconnect to her cultural roots, Nabi feels directionless in how to implement this secret wish of hers. Until her adoptive mother tells a little lie, and a little white lie opens her world to the possibilities deep within, especially when she learns about the Unwavering Peony, a parable about the transformational possibilities through the voids in our life’s story.
Through a road trip from Seoul to Namhae Island to Busan, and a couple of stops along the way, Nabi learns about South Korea’s challenging contemporary history, and of how she is not alone when it comes to the act of rediscovering the beauty of her cultural roots. Ultimately, she learns how the scars of her past connect to the dreams of her future. Nabi leaves South Korea learning that hope is that break-open point when we embrace life -- as it is, broken, healed, or in-healing, and when we grow our own butterfly wings, just like the meaning of her Korean name, Na-bi.
BUTTERFLY WISHES, SIJO POEM...
Your life is…a living poem,
without rhyme and without meter.
Your life is…a story with,
deep meaning and many lessons.
In your life…the world smiles and loves,
since you’re soulful poetry.
H. L. Balcomb
SEOUL TO SOUL, a cultural, historical, and introspective journey through the viewpoints of a mother-and-daughter's road trip through South Korea, searching for Nabi's (the daughter's) biological family, and the pieces of her birth story scattered throughout the Korean Peninsula.
You must be logged in to post a comment.