Bryan Aubrey holds a PhD in English and has published many articles on contemporary poetry. In this essay, he discusses “Monologue for an Onion” as a metaphysical poem about the human quest for knowledge, fulfillment, and love.

Kim's “Monologue for an Onion” is a witty and biting critique of the ways in which humans seek to know and to love, their earnestness matched only by the ignorant stupidity with which they go about their task. The poem does not present any optimism at all about the human condition, and its tone is relentlessly mocking. Humans are viewed as lost creatures, wandering in a maze, divided against themselves, seeking understanding but unwittingly ensuring that they will never find it.

Those who read the entirety of Kim's collection of poems Notes from the Divided Country will not be surprised to find the poet presenting such a bleak picture of...