EMILY CANN

In the wake
         Kintsugi suite 2

I let my open palm drape in the water
wayfinding out of disaster.
We ride the gentle waves and she says
you will get through this.

I imagine a shoreline of broken glass,
cut my heels on their sharp edges.
There’s something beautiful about
the way the light splits upon impact.

The water drapes around my fingers
like a ribbon. I will get through this
I say as I admire the parts of myself
already coming apart at the seams.

I imagine the rough edges of my body
splitting light like wood. Imagine filling
the space between my fingers
with sublimated gold.

I feel the drag of the water as
we sail past. You will get through this
because I’ve gotten through this.
we are the kind of women

who get through. I see the shore
come into focus, see the fractured
light collecting on the sand.
I watch her steer us in

and brace for landing.