Youth Be Heard
spinning top, equipoise, poetry
Poetry,  Relationships,  Writing

Equipoise

By Lovanna Belle Amé, 19, Colorado

Another relationship up in flames, 

Over just when it’s begun. 

I pushed too hard, 

I felt so sure this was “the one.”

Even while the ashes still fall, 

And the tears dry on my face, 

I find I have the strength to get up and carry on.  

I’m done crying for ideals,

Wishing things were just exactly so. 

I will still be happy in this world, 

Even if I’m never whole. 

Things won’t always happen like I think they should, 

And in the end that’s for the best. 

I can’t carry all I hope to hold, 

I would only make a mess. 

What I have is so precious,

And I’m blessed to be alive. 

My life is full to bursting, 

Even if it’s not all I want. 

I know I’ll be ok if I’m never understood, 

My life is so much better than most lives that I have seen. 

But, I will still cry sometimes. 

That’s a fact of life.

So I will search for balance,

Pray it’s something I can find. 


Have you ever had expectations or ideals for a relationship that just didn’t pan out? I have. I can get so absorbed in my expectations that I completely destroy a friendship when it doesn’t live up to them. This poem is my creed to myself to start seeing and loving people for who they are and not just who I want them to be. To live life fully and completely, no strings attached. The title of this poem, “Equipoise,” means balancing conflicting forces or interests.

Photo by Christophe Hautier

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