Madame Song Sings Jindo Arirang

Thanks to Phillip and Jillian Hall for publishing my short poem  'Madame Song Sings Jindo Arirang in Burrow 2, 2020.

I met the distinguished pansori singer Madame Song (not her real name) at the School of Music while I was teaching a unit called 'Music in Asian Cultures.'  Pansori is the Korean art of musical storytelling and is performed by a solo singer and drummer. Arirang is a Korean folk song that became an anthem after the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945). Each province has its own version. It's a song of hope and resilience. For more detail, try this excellent reference:

Maliankay, Roald, 2007. Broken Voices: Postcolonial Entanglements and the Preservation of Korea's Central Folksong Traditions. UH Press.

 

Madame Song Sings Jindo Arirang

 

Immaculate in pink and navy blue

with rosewood fan 

Madame Song sings Jindo Arirang.

Her voice is soju from the Seven-Eleven,

tuned but gravel-harsh. She belts it out,

not missing one sweet beat

of the changdan rhythm cycle, snapped

by stick on chango drum

quick as the flick of a whip.

She's in the Jindo province

singing down the years.

Singing down the occupation,

singing down the pain.

Ari-Arirang

Ari-Arirang