Poems as Prayers & Reflections: Kintsugi
On Japanese Pottery and fissured plans
Kintsugi
How many daydreams precede
a miracle? A glimpse of possible
revealed in a crack, the sliver of a day
yet to be filled with gold?
Fissured plans are so often
reassembled one fragment
at a time, revealing a final
creation of something new,
different, better. A fulfillment,
not of broken promises, but
the promise of healing,
with gold.
(from my book Mining the Bright Birds: Poems of Longing for Home)
REFLECTION TO CONSIDER
Your Invitation
Sit for 5 minutes and listen to what the words might be saying to you. God could be speaking (actually, He is always speaking.)
Find an empty journal or use one you have and write down what comes to mind. It does not have to be a poem, of course. Then come back and tell us about it in the Comments if you’d like.
A few simple questions to respond to or journal about:
What fissured plans have you experienced?
Have they been reassembled or are you still in pieces?
How might you hold them up to God?
It’s great to have you as part of the Poetry & Made Things community!
ICYMI: You can find the first two Poems as Prayers & Reflections by clicking on the ‘Archive’ tab at the top of the page
BONUS: FREE DOWNLOADS Vintage bird prints with each of the week’s poems-three so far; simply click on the links below.
RESOURCES | RECOMMENDATIONS
Next time you order a book: (of course you’re ordering books…right?)
If you’d like to support a brick and mortar bookstore run by actual people, here’s a great place to consider—Nooks in Lancaster PA. Shawn & Maile Smucker, writers and friends, just purchased Nooks and are looking forward to serving you-no matter where you live. Be sure to subscribe to the Nooks Substack where Shawn writes a Top Shelf newsletter with book rec’s. To order a book, simply email the store at hello@nooks.gallery. Or, call them at 717-869-6109 and place an order with Maile or Shawn.
You’re welcome.
QUOTABLE
I began birding, and the ridiculous idea occurred to me that perhaps taking delight in the Lord was less about sitting still with an open Bible, trying to will myself into a joyful feeling, and more about drinking deeply of the delights God plants over every square inch of the world. I'd been attempting to force delight and all the while God was sending warblers past my window.
-Courtney Ellis Looking Up A Birder’s Guide to Hope Through Grief
LAST FOUR PHOTOS from my phone (the best ones, imho)
This is lovely, and I’ve seen it true in my own life so many times! The reassembly laced with gold.
What came to me was the fact that the gold is more precious than the vessel it is repairing. But not more valuable, as God uses gold to repair our fissures. The next image I had was the description of heaven's streets paved with gold. Could this mean there are no cracks, no wounds in heaven, but that every fissure has been healed? Finally the words to a hymn, "sanctify to thee thy deepest distress." There would be no gold if we weren't broken, but we are, and He heals.