I first found out about this poem through NamJin Homes.
This poem seems to be a great source of inspiration for Namjoon and this is obvious by the many references to it scattered around the lyrics of a lot of the songs he either wrote, or helped in the writing of.
The poem is as follows:
Before I called their name,
they were nothing
more than a gesture
When I called their name,
they came to me
and became a flower.
Like I called their name,
will someone please call my name
that suits my light and fragrance?
I, too, long to come to them
and become their* flower.
We all long to be something.
You, to me, and I, to you,
long to become a gaze that won’t be forgotten.
*The use of “Their” in the third verse is gender neutral.
Key takeaways
The poetry speaks of how a person can “bloom” like a beautiful flower only in the moment that it is understood and in essence, be loved by a person for what it really is.
In the poem, the “real essence” of a person is poetically and metaphorically referred to as a “name”. The act of recognising the essence/identify is referred to as “calling / speaking” the name of your loved one.
In summary: The concept of calling or speaking someone’s real “name” means that you’re loving someone for whom they truly are.