We caught up with the brilliant and insightful William Poncy a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

William, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I believe life is about taking risks. However, in our modern world of convenience few of us risk anything. Risk is engrained into our primordial brain. Our ancestors could not escape risk, surviving meant risking it all, life itself is a risk, so risk is deeply hardwired into our minds, bodies, and psyche. It is quite possible that our psyche still need this risk to survive, which might explain the current state of our lives. But in or modern society of fast food, air conditioning, cozy blankets, and wild animals now confined to zoos or the darkest corners of the wild, risk is now a matter of ambition or heart.

So, firstly, my biggest risk is taking a risk at all. I don’t need to take a risk, life is more comfortable without risk. Secondly, my biggest risk was to expose my heart to the world through my poetry, and to the dismay of a certain someone, professing my love. True I won’t die from these risks, but there is a certain kind of death. Death of ego, death of emotional stability. Death of the armor I’ve kept my heart hidden under. It is hard and very often painful to be vulnerable, but my heart can’t know freedom a remain hidden at the same time.

Time will tell how my risk turned out, this is a story that is still being written. Every time I write a poem I’m taking that same risk. The risk of vulnerability. My writing has given me praise and accolades, but in the end I’m not sure if that is what the poet needs. I believe my risks are risks that I won’t see the rewards of until my heart meets the Heart of the Divine, forever to be consumed by the Love of all Love.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a Poet. To me poetry isn’t something taught or learned, or even a career, but it is life, breath, love given, love received, the smell of the sea, the sun on our skin, God and His Love and His Blood, all formed into words. A poet is born to be a poet. We are born, not made. However, something needs to break or burn in us before we can realize this. And I’ve stubbornly been broken and thrown into the inferno of broken heartedness more times than I can remember.

My current life as a poet began after a painful divorce. I didn’t know what to do with my life and my pain, other than to sink into despair and whiskey, and those were not options I felt comfortable with longterm. So I wrote, and the pain became words, often effortlessly. The poems became cathartic and healing. Often prayers in the form of a poem. They were personal, and more often than not, painful. I kept them hidden in my journal, not even thinking the world might want to read them. One day, I bravely posted a poem to my social media. I am not exactly sure why I did this, but it was most likely to impress a girl. To my surprise it seemed people enjoyed it, so I began to post them more regularly. Friends, family, and colleagues would tell me how meaningful or lovely the poems were, I try to stay humble but the praise does feel good and it encourages me to write more,

My poetry deals with themes of the the Divine, nature, destiny, dreams, the mystical, and more often than not love. These are themes that I believe are very interconnected, I see God in all of them and through them all I see God. I believe very strongly that my life is being guided by His Divine Hand, with me often struggling to get out of His tender grasp. I feel my poetry reflects that. Much of my poetry is written while I am out in nature. The calmness of the natural world untangles my thoughts and releases them onto paper more easily.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I do my best to always love with all my heart, no matter what. There have been many times in my life where I could have chosen to become hard, to turn my heart into a heart of stone, but I refuse. Life would be easier with a heart of stone, but that’s just not who I am.

The best example of this would be my divorce. I did everything I could to be the best husband and to love, apologize, and forgive to the best of my abilities. My divorce came out of nowhere, from my perspective, at least. It was very painful and confusing. I could have returned hurt for hurt, but I chose to return love for hurt instead.

Society will tell you to turn off your heart, become cold, ghost them, get revenge. However, for me, to love when the world is cruel is the greatest form of resilience. Love is the greatest revenge. When the world sets you on fire show them you’re already burning with the greatest power in the universe. Love.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is unburdening my heart and mind. For so many years I kept everything inside, my feelings and my creativity. When I started writing, and now also photography, I realized that when I was done with the process I felt so much more unburdened and free. So, it is very therapeutic and healing. I strongly encourage everyone to do something creative when the world is feeling heavy.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @williamdponcy

Image Credits

William Poncy