i which means "golden joinery," teaches us that even if we have survived illness and difficult times such as the pandemic, we can still heal the "brokenness" in a manner that transforms us into something we are not afraid to celebrate. In this delicate art, breaks are not hidden but highlighted by piecing the broken parts together with a mixture of lacquer and gold or silver powder. This ethos mirrors the path we travel to mend what may have been hurt in us, filling the cracks left by trials with radiant bonds stronger than before. Like a warrior who emerges mightier from battle, we see in this collection of poems, the journey from brokenness to healing as one always bound by the luminous threads of love, caring, and hope.

This perspective is related to the philosophy of wabi-sabi, which emphasizes finding beauty in simplicity and within life's imperfections. It encourages us to accept the natural cycle of growth and aging, and to appreciate the transience of life - celebrating the way things are, rather than craving for how they should be. Within this framework of thought, each tale, each poem, becomes a testament to the unyielding power of compassion, hope and love as "the golden elements" mending our fractured world. It is seeing the blessings still shining through our lives, recognizing that there is always hope on healing's road, and a beauty that emerges from embracing imperfections while celebrating ways of coping through caring and resilience.

Maryam Daftari is a retired lecturer in political science and a China specialist. She is a poet, pianist, and award winning nature photographer. Maryam has published three books and over 25 articles on Chinese affairs, has lectured on International Relations and Comparative Politics, specifically on Chinese Government and Politics at several universities for over three decades.

She started writing poetry as an undergraduate, winning several awards. Maryam's poems have been chosen for publication in many of the annual editions of Lyrical Iowa and San Diego Poetry Annual (2013-2023), in Stand Forth and A Step Between, publications of Iowa's Society of Great River Poets. Her poems have also appeared in an anthology of San Diego poets entitled Sundays at Liberty Station. Maryam is the author of 2 poetry collections, Like Magic but Real and Haiku Workbook. Her favorite poets are Rumi and Mary Oliver.