Jo

An old fisherman in Fukuoka, gave me a ride on his small fishing boat Took me to Eulsukdo in South Korea All through our trip, I was cursed with nightmares of Ponzo His death The fate of the disappeared children Images of dismembered dogs Bloody snouts and enormous teeth Growling Sea creatures Endless barking noises inside my head filled my sleepless nights The old man remained quiet Not a single word for days He sat still for hours Caught a fish here and there which he would share with me I had no appetite The boat's motor would often stop and remain idle for hours Until the old man was able to get it starting again I tried to make conversation He would just look at me and resume his exercise of silence Desperately needed to see other people Have a conversation The old man was too zen for my liking And I had no distraction from my thoughts His name was Jõ Little did I know that years later I would finally come to understand his silence And the influence it had over me, over and over again Without me knowing it