you are caught in a tangle

a maze of worry and unease

sending you scattered down the path

forgetting which direction to go

whether you right or left last turned

bewildered

 

then you stop and turn and realise

that the walls that surround are not

as solid as they seem

 

as you examine them

you begin to see patterns

swirls and angles assembled

 

and realise then that a hedge full

of bushes and vines does not

a prison make

that freedom is entirely possible

and is even close at hand

 

and as you compare the logic available

in this moment to the chaos of the last

you realise that slowing right down

and facing your fears

has shown that they were not

as dangerous as you supposed

 

and the threats that were perceived

out of the corner of your eye

were not the impenetrable ones

assumed once you had turned

to face them instead

 

then you sit right down

place hands on hedge

unravel some branches here

detangle some vines over there

and you slip right through the

space you have found

 

and find that you in fact

are now no longer bound

 

Heather Pound 2024

Photo by Anh Tuan To on Unsplash