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An exchange: Kinship
Welcome to Part 3 of An exchange, a side of the Poetry & Process newsletter where artists explore a topic through an exchange of their art.
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 poems and art from Katharine Beckett Winship, author of Matters of Kinship. A newsletter will be published daily for six days, exploring different aspects of Kinship, each publication responding to and building on the prior piece from the collaborating artist.
Subscribe to Matters of Kinship
Kinship: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6
WATER BODIES
river speaks to wetland:
hello, kin,
how good to see you.
wetland responds to river: i bow to you.
i come with news.
er, and a request.
river: it must be urgent for you
to come this close.
wetland: the good people are organizing.they are rebuilding your riparian banks
with river rocks and netting.
they have found a stormwater technician
who thinks like a wetland.
filter. calm down. filter. slow down.
river: that is good news indeed.you know how to filter
as only a mountain wetland can.
my trout send gratitude.
they like the cool, clean eddies.
but, wetland,
i continue to make mist
when i consider the
Supreme Court wetland decision.
wetland: oof.i will flood your banks
if we talk about those idiots.
river: moving on.what is your request?
again, it must be urgent
for you to rise so.
wetland: remember the storyteller?
river: of course. your guardian child.
wetland: yes.she wakes from dreams in tears.
she says to the dog: this can’t be happening.
river: she’s fine. long ago,
i moved her
to reside near your mountain spirits.
wetland: yes, they talk.the long Catabawba River has heard their laughter.
river: good. i surrounded her with kin-oaks, pines,
and for her delight ~ dogwoods.
i gave her ginkgos to remind her:
time is folly.
i sent her three lost dogs.
she’s fine.
wetland: she’s not fine. the ruffians who drain me,
then fill me, and build on me are dangerous.
she is as sensitive as your trout
reacting to the tiniest change of water temperature.
river: she’s fine. she has kin: Kane, Solnit, Ray, Williams, Brower,
O’Kane, Graeber, Funke, McDuff, Lanham…
wetland: sigh. but she heard Lopez say: I hope they know what’s coming.
river: she has his buddy Macfarlane. she’s waiting for his new book: Is a River Alive?
wetland: ahahahahahah. yes, but, River,
she fears you are upset with her.
river: i am not. she’s building infrastructure.
that work is slow, and hard.
wetland: River, here’s my request: give her time with Great Blue Heron.
he gives her perspective
as do the gingkos.
river: yes, she wants to remember what they know.
she will.
yet, first she will tell your story,
how you need your Rights
how you are the kidneys of Earth.
then she will unravel the stories
of the Supreme Court decisions.
wetland: no, that’s too much.
there is silence
at the intersection of river and wetland.
it is an estuary moment.
river: you are right.they are dangerous and wrong.
here’s my decision:
ask her to tell your story.
your history, your mission.
wetland: and she’ll have time with Great Blue Heron?river: yes, yes.
send her to my headwaters.
wetland: good.
thank you.
until next time.
river: peace as you recede.
in kinship,
Katharine 🌱
This exchange is so moving. Have you and Brian have considered publishing these poems in a chapbook/ book? They would make a powerful collection, I think.
Beautiful!!!