Kintsugi

by Gail Hersey

Kintsugi – A Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with lacquer mixed with precious metals. Rather than trying to hide the damage, this “golden joinery” becomes an integral part of the history of the object, creating a new kind of beauty in the cracks and breaks.

 

Gravity has set my table.

My bones heave toward the floor,

crush and crack on the way.

Blood finds its own level

pools in the lowest cavities.

 

Something inside me is broken.

Shattered sharp slivered

fragments, brittle as second ice.

I reach down my throat

to pull the pieces out.

 

With diligence

scrap is snugged to scrap,

squeezed together

with the weepings of balsams.

Bits reclaim their birthright,

 

form a new pot.

Fractures creep like spiderwebs,

imperfections kindle a rebirth;

each scar a vital eulogy

in this golden joinery.

 

 

 

Gail Hersey grew up on a family dairy farm and has spent most of her life in the country surrounded by gardens and forest. She is a freelance writer and poet, a printmaker and a member of the Internet Writer’s Workshop. She is currently working on a collection of her poetry, writing and organizing from her studio, while enjoying the pleasures of the view of her gardens.

Kate Dean is an artist, poet, gardener, holistic health coach and musician, and lives in the Monadnock Region of New Hampshire. She is completing an MFA in Studio Art with a focus on textiles, and makes installations, artist’s books, and sculptures.

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