How Much? Poem by Grant House

How much, she asks, is enough
Love
Attention
Positive regard
Interest
Affinity
Goodwill
Friendliness
Humor
Admiration
Respect
Understanding
Creativity
Enthusiasm
Compassion
Good nature
Happiness
Sorrow
Grief
Hope
Longing

How much?

Your heart is the roaring ocean
The storm surge at high tide, the cliff collapsing to the beach below
The worn out seal pup lost without its mother
You are the one who, upon finding him washed up, exhausted
Barely alive and defiant in the wind-blown sea foam
Wishes nature were kinder to her kin.

She wants to know
How much is enough?

Your heart is the windstorm on the prairie laying flat the grass
The last tin of beans shared bit by bit by six hungry children
The memory of the grip of the infant's tiny fist around her father's finger
And, fourteen days ago, the last squeeze of her hand on his before slipping away forever

How much?

Look for your heart in the night sweats of the lonely shopkeeper
In debt, in trouble
No option but to borrow more, but from where?
Or in the trembling voice of her failing mother in the next room crying out again in her darkness,
Who's there?

Seek your self in the high waterfall at sunrise
The long shadows, grinding rocks, and rising mist in a remote corner of the forest rarely if ever seen by human eyes
Powerful, unrepentant, authentic
Then listen for your heart in the chaotic buzz of saws and the crack of tree trunks splintering coming from time to time with the wind over the near horizon

How much? she pleads

If there is an answer, it may live in the flash flood on its way down the mountain to the desert floor
The faraway thunderstorm, the years long drought,
The young boy and girl sipping water from a quiet pool seeing their own eyes briefly dancing on the surface of the still water suddenly disturbed by a low rumbling in the ground
And the one racing against all hope to find them as the torrent cascades down the canyon toward the campground

Find that heart dear friend
And then we will talk about
How much is enough