Kintsugi of the Self
Gabriel Filpi
I found myself in intimacy,
In the arms of others who held me tight
and embraced a form I only saw before,
as a sum of mismatched pieces.
Squeezed together under the pressure of their comfort,
That held everything together.
To be seen as whole, as beautiful, as strong
When through my eyes everything was fragile.
I know that I am not fragile.
It took time,
How much, I can’t say;
To fill each crack with gold.
Reform,
Reclaim.
No longer through another’s lens did I need to see myself.
Not a sculpture carved of unyielding stone,
But one drawn together from clay, by loving hands
Into infinite forms, worked and reworked,
Molded into the shape of a man, pieced together by rivers of gold.
It runs through my veins,
Free flowing.
Like Midas I spread it
wherever I go.
Kindness, and love
A reminder that you
are always enough.