Flower blossoming in her hair is scorching hot — Sister is
Leaves are scalding hot even at the slightest touch — Sister is

Metallic apple above her breasts is even hotter — Sister is
Two front teeth that bite into the apple are shockingly cold — Sister is

Frozen tongue, so her body feels like a fireball — Sister is
The command living inside her brain becomes increasingly severe — Sister says

that the photograph of her family on the wall is boiling
that the picture frame is as hot as the pot handle

that she needs an enema because hot sparrows are crawling out of her ears
when she sobs like a quivering aspen tree

that black threads of her sewn heart are coming apart
that her waking dream is licking the bed, wardrobe, dining table

that a piece of meat she began chewing a hundred years ago is still stuck inside her mouth
that all her house pets are constantly rotting inside her mouth

Root of the flower in her hair is combusting inside her body — Sister is
Heart is damp like her clasped hands — Sister is

Letters to Your Honorable Hospital CEO, Your Honorable President everyday — Sister writes
You have a child and husband, don’t you? Let’s switch, switch places! — Sister pleads

“Portrait of Fear,” by Kim Hyseoon, translated by Don Mee Choi, from Phantom Pain Wings, copyright © 2019 by Kim Hyesoon. Translation and Translator’s Diary copyright © 2023 by Don Mee Choi. Used by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.