March 27, 2015Dear Yeobo,Tanya Hyonhye Ko, Tanya Ko

“I was asking myself, why do I write? I think my answer will be different every time I ask this question. I have an image of releasing black blood from the thumb. It’s painful but it is healing. When I was growing up in Korea, whenever we had a stomach ache, grandmother or mother or aunts would wind our thumb with white cotton thread and push the sewing needle in to release black blood. I don’t know if modern medicine would approve, but it works for us. When aunt pushed her needle into my thumb, it was painful, but when I saw black blood coming out, I felt better and I could breathe again. There are so many emotions in my heart, I hope to share them with you in poems.”