When Your Worries Have Worries

Some days when I wake up, I am not sure what to worry about first. On those days I know I need to a few moments to take a seat and pause. In a quiet practice of sitting still, I focus on the miraculous movement of my breath. Sometimes I read a poem or watch something uplifting. Worries will come, but for a time I choose to let them move like clouds.

This practice is one that I return to again and again, like the matchstick house builder in this poem. Sometimes practice helps with the construction of a stronger house where worries have more trouble getting inside.

This poem was featured in the Poetry Unbound podcast on November 4, 2022. You can find out more HERE.

“MY WORRIES HAVE WORRIES” by Laura Villareal

You can listen HERE

“MY WORRIES HAVE WORRIES

“so I built little matchstick houses

with large ceilings, a garden for them to grow

“tomatoes, cilantro, & carrots

their worry babies will eat

“but they chew on the henbit of me anyway

both my past & future entwined into disasters

“I tell them I worry about their health

that they’re not eating properly

“I mother them

the way I do anyone I love

“they ask if I love myself

I tug the sleeves of my sweater

“begin thatching a leaking roof

water their garden

at night

“I can hear them

dancing around a bonfire

“all I’ve built burned

down, a soot snowfall

“tomorrow they’ll wait for me

& I’ll reconstruct their home

anyone would do the same”

Photo by Bannon Morrissy on Unsplash