Three days before he died, he wrote a final poem:[3] 무지개 김영무 이 땅에 시인 하나 풀꽃으로 피어나 바람결에 놀다 갔다.
풀무치 새 울음소리 좋아하고 이웃 피붙이 같은 버들치 힘찬 지느러미 짓 더욱 좋아했다.
[2] His first published article on Korean poetry, 이육사론 (창작과 비평, 1975년 여름호) signified his recognition as a literary critic.
He and Brother Anthony together translated The Sound of my Waves and Beyond Self by Ko Un, Back to Heaven by Ch'on Sang-Pyong, Faint Shadows of Love by Kim Kwang-kyu, and Farmers' Dance by Shin Kyong-Nim.
A second volume, 산은 새소리마저 쌓아 두지 않는구나, was published while he was still in hospital recovering from an operation for lung cancer in August 1998