Kintsugi 金継ぎ

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                                                                                                    First published by The Tokyo Poetry Journal

Porcelain shattered as the vase hit ground.

Calla lilies and peonies scattered at her feet

as she scurried down the hallway, late.

She dropped her bag and kneeled 

to pick up the pieces

as tears welled, then gushed at a mooring

crushed. Ikebana was her anchor 

to art when a whirlpool of jobs & lovers & life

guzzled sculptures, sketches and songs  

leaving her sapped. She glanced out the window 

at the oak tree and saw gradations of greens 

bleed into ambers & ochres & plums 

to imbue autumn leaves with splendor. 

His call broke her reverie, 

impatience throbbing through ringtone. 

She lay the fragments on her table,

silenced her phone & set to work.

Fracture is a chance to reconfigure.