integration

god harnessed the messy nothing, tamed it,
made the light, the dark, and named it,
not good versus bad —
this | that.

street stripes, zebras, ebony and ivory,
distinction, differentiation, side by side in harmony.

my broken beliefs bre-
ak open:
a kintsukuroi bowl,
            gaping holes filled,

cracks rivered through with gold.

This poem and art piece was inspired by the Japanese art form of kintsugi, or kintsukuroi, in which broken bowls and dishes are mended with lacquer and gold dust. It is a way of salvaging and making beautiful what is broken both in a literal and metaphorical sense, which I find empowering and comforting. The art piece above was created using a wooden salad bowl that had cracked and was no longer usable; instead of tossing it out, I spray painted it black, then added more coats of black paint, and then drips of gold and melted wax along the edges.