Poet Jeong Da-yeon reflects on love, pets, and finding community

Poet Jeong Da-yeon contemplates the complexities of love and relationships, acknowledging the lingering pain from past romantic encounters. She notes a shift in her perspective, recognizing that romantic bonds don't always need to be institutionalized or heterosexual, which has brought her a sense of freedom. However, this freedom is tempered by the reality of increasing social vulnerability, particularly as she relies on her pets for companionship but cannot receive direct care from them.

Jeong finds herself seeking a trustworthy community to navigate these challenges. Her relationship with her large dog, Obok, adopted over a year ago, presents its own set of urban living difficulties. While relieved to have saved Obok from euthanasia, she grapples with the possibility that her own life might impose new constraints on him. This shared adaptation to city life, with the leash symbolizing their intertwined existence, began after she acknowledged her own vulnerabilities as a pet owner.

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I think I loved the world.

She frequently contacts Obok's rescuer, seeking both practical and emotional support, realizing she couldn't manage alone. Their conversations have expanded beyond their dogs to encompass broader life discussions. The rescuer's poignant reflection, "I think I loved the world," resonated deeply with Jeong, offering a sense of validation and permission to love the world herself, even amidst her own sadness.

The article also delves into Jeong's appreciation for her own poetry, specifically her poem "Hitchhiker." She sees the poem as preserving a certain vitality, much like the frogs discovered by flashlight in its narrative. The poem's depiction of two characters navigating an uneven path in the dark, relying on each other, symbolizes a relationship that can safely traverse difficulties. Jeong finds beauty in the understated yet evocative emotions and the expansive, metaphorical scenes of life and connection depicted in the poem, likening the lingering sense of excitement and premonition to the discovery of frogs.

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As if walking with a flashlight, you and I carried small fruits to the world.