♡ 청 춘 (靑 春) ♡
청춘이란 인생의 어떤 한 시기가 아니라
어떤 마음가짐을 뜻하나니
장미빛 볼, 붉은 입술, 강인한 육신을 뜻하지 않고
풍부한 상상력과 왕성한 감수성과 의지력과 그리고
인생의 깊은 샘에서 솟아나는 참신함을 뜻합니다.
생활을 위한 소심성을 초월하는 용기,
안이함에 집착을 초월하는 모험심,
청춘이란 그 탁월한 정신력을 뜻하나니
때로는 20살의 청년보다
60살의 노인이 더 청춘일수 있네.
우리는 누구나 세월만으로 늙어가지 않고
이상을 잃어버릴 때 비로소 늙어갑니다.
세월은 살결에 주름을 만들지만
열정을 상실할 때 영혼이 주름지고
근심, 두려움, 자신감 상실은
기백을 죽이고 정신을 타락시키네.
그대가 젊어있는 한 60살이건 16살이건
모든 인간의 가슴속에는
경이로움의 동경과
아이처럼 왕성한 미래의 탐구심과
인생이라는 게임에 대한 즐거움이 있는법.
그대 가슴, 나의 가슴, 한 가운데는
이심전심의 오고감이 있어
인간과 신 그 모든 것으로부터 오는
메시지를 받아들이네.
아름다움과 희망과 기쁨과 용기와 힘의 메시지를
그대가 젊은 나이라 하더리도,
그대가 기개를 잃고,
정신이 냉소주의와 비관주의, 패배주의에 덮여있는 한
그대는 20살이라도 늙은이라네.
그러나 그대의 기개가 낙관주의의 파도를 잡고있는 한
그대는 80살로도 청춘의 이름으로 죽을 수 있네.
사뮤엘 율만(Samuel Ullman) : 지음
(이 사뮤엘 율만의 詩는 世界第2次大戰이 끝난 後,
美 極東軍司令官이던 맥아더將軍이 그의 房에 걸어 놓고,
애송(愛頌)하던 名文이랍니다.)
Youth
By Samuel Ullman
Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.
Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity of the appetite, for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of sixty more than a boy of twenty. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.
Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.
Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being’s heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing child-like appetite of what’s next, and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the infinite, so long are you young.
When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at twenty, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch the waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at eighty.
Samuel Ullman (April 13, 1840 – March 21, 1924) was an American businessman, poet, humanitarian. He is best known today for his poemYouth which was a favorite of General Douglas MacArthur. The poem was on the wall of his office in Tokyo when he became Supreme Allied Commander in Japan. In addition, he often quoted from the poem in his speeches, leading to it becoming better known in Japan than in theUnited States.
Born in 1840 at Hechingen, Hohenzollern to Jewish parents, Ullman immigrated with his family to America to escape discrimination at the age of eleven. The Ullman family settled in Port Gibson, Mississippi. After briefly serving in the Confederate Army, he became a resident ofNatchez, Mississippi. There, Ullman married, started a business, served as a city alderman, and was a member of the local board of education.
In 1884, Ullman moved to the young city of Birmingham, Alabama, and was immediately placed on the city's first board of education.
During his eighteen years of service, he advocated educational benefits for black children similar to those provided for whites. In addition to his numerous community activities, Ullman also served as president and then lay rabbi of the city's reform congregation at Temple Emanu-El. Often controversial but always respected, Ullman left his mark on the religious, educational, and community life of Natchez and Birmingham.
In his retirement, Ullman found more time for one of his favorite passions - writing letters, essays and poetry. His poems and poetic essays cover subjects as varied as love, nature, religion, family, the hurried lifestyle of a friend, and living "young." It was General Douglas MacArthur who facilitated Ullman's popularity as a poet - he hung a framed copy of a version of Ullman's poem "Youth" on the wall of his office in Tokyo and often quoted from the poem in his speeches. Through MacArthur's influence, the people of Japan discovered "Youth" and became curious about the poem's author.
In 1924, Ullman died in Birmingham, Alabama.
In 1994, the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Japan-America Society of Alabama opened the Samuel Ullman Museum in Birmingham's Southside neighborhood. The museum is located in the former Ullman residence and is operated by the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
댓글 없음:
댓글 쓰기