A Flame Kindled by Forgiveness
On the dusty southern land,
Treading the dirt roads of a small village,
With injustice and discrimination etched in his eyes,
He walked, etching words
That burned with fire upon the stone paths.
With a heart set aflame he raised the flag,
And with a silent outcry
Shook the closed walls of power,
Yet only echoes of his voice
Remained in the shadow of iron bars.
Even through twenty-seven years of long silence,
He did not yield.
Using books and dreams as his lamp,
He planted the seeds of dawn.
The world heard his silence,
And in the light of release he spoke,
“I will embrace the fallen nation
With flowers of forgiveness, not the blade.“
Nelson Mandela, his name
Now remains a flame within the soul;
The one who planted saplings shining in black earth,
Awakening the wilderness from its sleep,
Shaking the slumbering hearts of the world.
The Light on a Wet Shoulder
On life’s journey, everyone
Meets a storm that soaks them to the bone.
Some stagger in the wind,
Embracing their drenched souls,
Then collapse or sink to the ground.
Even in that rain,
Is there truly no path
To follow a single ray of light?
Some, beneath lightning-split skies,
Hear a whisper soft as breath,
Find a light gently spreading
Through cracks in gray clouds,
And in the warmth settling on wet shoulders,
They call even this storm a festival’s drumbeat
And sing a song of thanks.
I too, in my youth,
Was thrown into a dark prison by the pain of illness,
But clung to the rope called prayer,
Never letting go of the star of hope.
And so today, I
Kindle flames of poetry upon a withered heart,
Offer warm light to hungry souls,
And seek to bloom, unbroken in the storm,
As an edelweiss bearing the fragrance of heaven.
The Sun
At every dawn, tearing through the veil of darkness,
With golden feathers fluttering, the sun ascends.
The source of all things, the breath of the Creator,
Pulsates endlessly, whispering its steady rhythm.
Its fiery gaze pours upon the Earth,
An eternal lamp holding the flame of life.
The pilgrimage that dances along the invisible path
Is a perfect symphony woven by God’s hand.
Beneath that light and warmth,
Flowers quietly open their lips, fruits ripen in the light.
All offer thanks for the silver blessings
Scattered by the sun,
And offer fragrant worship to the Master of the cosmos.
Wherever I am, burning with all my being,
With a heart that drives back the darkness,
I will become a small star that brightens the world.
He is an international poet and writer from South Korea. He achieved Ph. D. in English literature from the graduate school of Hanguk University of Foreign Studies in Korea. He was a lecturer at Hanguk University of Foreign Studies and an adjunct professor at Incheon Junior College in Korea for about 20 years. He has published 8 poetry books, one novel, and one book of essays. One poetry book, “Duel among a middle-aged fox, a wild dog and a deer” was a bestseller in 2012, one page from the book of Letters for Teenagers was put in textbooks of middle school (2011) and high school (2014) in South Korea, and four books (Easy-to-read English Bible stories, Old Testament(2017), New Testament(2018) and Teenagers, I Support your Dream”) were bestsellers.
He was granted a Rookie Award for poetry by the magazine of Monthly Literature Space in South Korea, and he received the World Peace Literature Prize for Poetry Research and Recitation, presented in New York City at the 5th World Congress of Poets(2004). He published poetry books, “Prescription of Civilization” and “Flowers of Thankfulness“ in America.(2019). He received Geum-Chan Hwang Poetry Literature Prize in Korea(2019), The Golden Prize from Poetry City and International Indian Award(literature) from WEWU(World English Writer’s Union)(2019). He published the English version of “Heart of God”(2020, a bestseller) and its Spanish version in America(2021, a bestseller).
He received The ‘ORDER OF SHAKESPEARE’ MEDAL from Motivational Strips, Golden Words Certificate on Mother’s Day from Beliterat.com and WORLD POETIC PILLAR AWARD 2020-2021 from WNWU (World Nations Writers Union)(2021). He published my autobiography, “Secrets and Fruits of Mission” in USA(2021, a bestseller). He received Poetry Star Award from Chinese Literature Magazine and The International Issue Poetry Magazine(2021). He received Eva Prize from The Moment Inspirational News1(2022). He received Certificate of Honour from Oxygen Pen(2022). He published the Chinese version of his book, “Heart of God” in Amazon and reached Amazon bestseller #1 in Chinese eBooks. He received Tagore Memorial Honours(2022) from Motivational Strips with joint association of Department of Culture, Government of Seychelles and its Journal SIPAY. He received Kazi Nazrul Islam Birth Anniversary Literary Award-2022 from ShahityaPata(2022).
He received CERTIFICATE Nelson Mandela 2022, CERTIFICADO INTERNATIONAL VIVCTOR HUGO and MAHATMA GANDHI INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP AWARD 2022 etc. He got The Christmas Literary Honors 2023 from Motivational Strips and Golden Bridge award from the Rahim Karim World Foundation in 2023. His poems were published at the literary magazines or anthologies of about 26 countries such as America, India, Mexico, Chile, Belgium, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, England, China, The Philippines, Peru, Serbia, Colombia, France, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, Dubai, Tunisia, Kyrgyzstan, Portugal, Syria, Romania, Nigeria, Lebanon and Pakistan.
My Short Bio (Wansoo Kim)
Wansoo Kim achieved Ph. D. in English Literature from the graduate school of Hanguk University of Foreign Studies. He has published 8 poetry books. One poetry book, “Duel among a middle-aged fox, a wild dog and a deer” was a bestseller in 2012. He won the World Peace Literature Prize for Poetry Research and Recitation, presented in New York City at the 5th World Congress of Poets(2004). He published poetry books, “Prescription of Civilization” and “Flowers of Thankfulness“ in America.(2019), received Geum-Chan Hwang Poetry Literature Prize in Korea(2019) and International Indian Award(literature) from WEWU(World English Writer’s Union)(2019).
He published “Heart of God” in America(2020). He published an autobiography book, “Secrets and Fruits of Mission” and a poetry book, “Flowers of Gratitude”(2021). He received India’s Independence Day Literary Honors 2021”(2021). He published the Chinese version of his ebook, “Heart of God,” which reached Amazon bestseller #1(2022). He published poetry books, “Captive of Crazy Love.”(2023) , “Teachings of Mother Nature(2024) and Exclamation Mark of Tears(2025)