An exchange: Kinship

Today, I am excited to publish Part 6 of An exchange, a side of the Poetry & Process newsletter where artists explore a topic through an exchange of their art. An exchange was first announced to the Poetry & Process community in an April 2024 Reflection essay on the poem Promises.

This month’s exchange is on the topic of Kinship, a series of six pieces written over the past four months, poems from Brian Funke, author of Poetry & Process, and Katharine Beckett Winship, author of Matters of Kinship. Today is the final day of this series exploring different aspects of Kinship, each publication responding to and building on the prior piece from the collaborating artist. Read along, perhaps revisiting prior pieces in this series, and consider what it may mean for you and for the world to approach your life with intimacy.

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I hope you have enjoyed this collaborative effort on Kinship.

Kinship: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

Eyesight

Brian Funke

When I move
my eyes
from my navel,
lift my stare
from my depths
to join yours,
hazel binds blue,
my hands yearn for you,
simmer
of spice,
kin are more.

When we bend
our eyes
from the others,
clutching hands
and step
to our tasks,
our work becomes clear,
surrounds us right here,
kin suffer
alone
in their masks.

When we open
our eyes
to the threads,
stitched together
in each
different past,
human and snake,
forest and lake,
when known
quilt of kin
is one mast.

Thank you for reading Part 6 of Kinship! Please leave a comment about what strikes you, speaks to you, or stirs in you while you read. Is there a time that catching the eyes of another changed your day, or even your life?

Thank you for joining Katharine and I for this exchange!

May you see every way we are kin…

Brian

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