Part 1 It's Okay

Today / Goodbye / Nevertheless / Hope / Fallen leaves are alive / My wife / Ugly son / Boy, have a small dream / Pain / Phone call / Mask / Post-corona again / After corona / Chae Song-hwa / For you who failed / Under the shade / Appetite / Corona 1 / Corona 2 / To me / Age / That child / Brushing teeth / Into the world / Internal injury / Star / Early death / Close your eyes / At least / Tear spot / Greetings / Corona era / Beautiful eyebrows / Mirror / Spring in the mouth / Bee / Life 1 / Life 2 / Meal time / Slow life / Old house / Unfading flower / Senior teacher / Under the blanket / Until the sun sets / Don't try too hard / Doenjang jjigae restaurant

Part 2: Don't Try Too Hard

Bus stop / Desert river / Oasis / Waking up feet / Tears-filled praise / The trumpet vine is falling / Corner of the flower garden / Open one eye / Farewell in the sky / Early spring / Next to the violets / The day I met you / Fairy tale / Afternoon KakaoTalk / KakaoTalk text / Clover leaves / Tomorrow / Haeundae beach / Only you / Embrace the stars / Love is like that / Twenties again / Butterfly necklace / Silver / Conversation / Under the trumpet vine / Even though I / Necklace / Come back after meeting / Knowingly / Suddenly / When the irises bloom again / Smiling doll / To a young friend / Traces of departure / Sending love / To love 1 / To love 2 / To love 3 / To love 4 / To love 5 / To love 6 / To love 7 / To love 8 / To love 9 / A narrow path / Looking at a photo / I get scared in advance / Mirror of the heart / When dark clouds fall / On the way to Yanggu

Part 3 I still like it

Flower Greetings / Leeseul Hanbok / The Day We Were No Longer In This World / Band-Aid on the Bridge of the Nose / Nema Nicodemus / Daughter of the Earth / Pretty Woman / With Fragrance / Guest / Crazy Seoul / I Can't Help It / The Way Down / Far Away / At Jungheungsa Temple / Living Poet / Two Poets / Lee Seong-seon's Poetry Monument / Secret Wish / Family / Christmas / I'm Not There / Thinking of Cain / Tea Without a Faucet / A Useless Thing / Bakery Mom / Funeral Journal / Stone Mirror / Lost Angel / The Language of Steel / The End House / A Person Waiting / Work in the Yard / People's Flowers / Between Autumn and Spring / Blessing / Mary Poppins / The Road in Front of My Alma Mater / May Lucia's Garden / An Empty Seat / Autumn's Scorpion / Young Doctor / Snail / I Really Don't Know / People's Stars

Part 4: Let's go slowly

A path / A confession / The Seoul desert / Conversion / Grandfather Earth / One-person church / Is there a Satan? / Thorn / How to love the world / It is a mistake / The global village / April 2nd / Yangji farm / Desert poetry collection / Nice to meet you / Praise the sunlight / The way back / A lonely house / The day I met an angel / Foolishness / Prayer for poetry / The beginning of poetry / Tree / Do not forget / Spring / Into the fog / Supplication / Silence / Raised up / Short words / Gimje plain / Breaking my knees / Daisy

“Don’t try too hard to do well.”
You are beautiful enough just the way you are now.
A greeting of comfort and encouragement for this sparkling day.

You don't have to try so hard to do well. You are pretty enough just the way you are now. Even if you make mistakes and are clumsy sometimes, you are still a lovable person.
- From "To a Young Friend"

The new poetry collection, “Don’t Try Too Hard to Do Well,” by poet Na Tae-ju, who has lovingly captured all the small and seemingly insignificant beings around him in his poetry, has been published.
These 176 new poems, which offer comfort and encouragement to us who have overcome difficult times and stand before a shining day, are poems that were written with the heart to meet readers right in front of their eyes, one poem a day or one poem a week from February 2020 to February 2022.
These are poems written daily, filled with feelings I couldn't express before, wishing for "rest, peace, and small happiness for each other each day" during a time of "difficulty for everyone" due to the unexpected outbreak of COVID-19.
This collection of poems contains clear and shining hopes that allow us to wait for tomorrow without “letting go of the string of hope.”

After a life that has “come so far” and “days of feeling lost in the desert-like road of life,” the poet looks back on the pain of “childhood, youth again.”
“A road I don’t want to go back on” that was “poor, cold, longing, sad, and boring.”
With a “now quiet heart,” I would like to encourage those who are standing on that path today.
The poet speaks in a cheerful voice, saying that all the “difficult, beautiful, and sad” days on earth are “still shining days and breathtakingly exciting days,” and that we should “believe in and look forward to tomorrow” and “meet again with smiling faces.”

The poetry collection consists of four parts.
Part 1, 'It's Okay Even So', talks about gratitude for today and anticipation for tomorrow; Part 2, 'Don't Try Too Hard', talks about 'you' who give strength on the arduous journey of life; Part 3, 'I Like It Even Now', talks about the respect and admiration the poet felt for people he encountered in life, such as Lee Eo-ryeong, Monk Dongmyeong, and a potter couple from Gyeryongsan; and Part 4, 'Let's Go Slowly' talks about daily reflections and practicing love for a warm world.
The cover illustration was drawn by world-renowned Chinese illustrator Oamul Lu.


“How long will we be
“Are we going to have a dinner like this on a day like this?”
I was glad you were here today too

Tomorrow is the day I meet you/The place where I meet you will be heaven/Wouldn't you be an angel again?/From today on, I live in heaven/I meet an angel.
- From "Tomorrow"

The poet has always talked about the existence of 'you' who gives strength in a difficult life.
The warmth of “unconditional love” that we give and receive in our daily lives becomes “the reason why morning comes every day” and a reason to start a new day.
The love for ‘you’ that “lights a small light in my heart just by thinking about you for a moment” becomes the strength to “get up again.”
The poet bows his head to those who allow him to “look forward to tomorrow” and “holds their gratitude in his heart.” “The time we spent together was deep and profound, so I will never forget it.”
The poet earnestly hopes that they will “stay with us for a long time.”

Just knowing that “there is someone who thinks of me” makes “the world a little more enjoyable to live in.”
Perhaps I, too, can become “someone who prays for someone and wants to cry together.” Because “love is dazzling, beautiful, and full in itself,” it makes us “more humble,” “generous, delicate, and kind” toward one another.
In these difficult times due to COVID-19, we cannot “leave each other’s backs and hug each other,” but we must maintain our daily lives, believing that “better days will surely come.”
“Although my heart is gloomy today, the day I will meet you soon” “Like the small, nameless birds, I too will chirp with joy.”

“The day we meet will surely come,” he said, “keeping his heart warm and waiting,” and “every day is the best day and every moment is truly gold.”
The poet is moved by the daily routine of asking each other how they are doing, saying, “Is everything okay?” “When I think about it, it’s a truly tear-jerking twist and turn.”
Things that are more beautiful and appreciated because they are not eternal.
"How long will this greeting continue?"! Because life is so "precious and beautiful," we must live this "one-of-a-kind" life with "trembling gratitude" and do our best, the poet's tender voice seems to be heard.