if only you could release that knot,
the one sitting creaky and long
in the middle of your chest. 
oh, how deep you could then breathe

you would gather it all up in one tidy
midsized ball—and then exhale,
letting it flow from your heart 
into open air wide 
as it dissipates 
and vanishes 

but even while you ponder 
prickles sharpen,
and like the spines
of a stubborn cactus
it digs in tighter still

it will not be an easy thing
this exhale of release

yet you draw thorns out of flesh
one sting by even one more painful sting 
until at last it floats free 

and you breathe in deep— 

—and breathe out release.
and there it goes, like tumbleweed across 
the road in bracing winter wind

and your heart begins to sing
and remembers you are so much more 
than the voice that whispered harsh
“inadequate”

—whatever your knot might be 
    it’s worth the effort to release. 

heather pound 2025

Photo by Canva

🌿I reworked this poem from a couple of years ago because it spoke to my own heart today. This process is not easy, but is better in the long run than carrying the weight around another day longer. 🌿