Author: heatherpound

all those niggling worries and deeply felt fears

that you have carried for far, far too long

have mostly come to nothing

 

i remind you gently of this

there are things in your grasp and

things that are not and most of your worries

fall into the latter

 

perhaps this is because they are beyond

your control

things you cannot foresee

 

you are strong but it is okay

to lay these things down

unlike atlas the world entire

is just too much to bear

 

so let it go

be free

take back only what is yours

and then instead of worrying

foster them gently

 

hold them up to the Light and wisdom for them seek

they are there to help you grow in ways needed

like the basil in my garden flourishing tall

 

but all the rest—they will just tear you down

squash you into something small

shatter your wellbeing

 

i wish i had known this eons ago

but you are a single cup

just a small thing really

and all you need to do

is to keep your cup filled

running over even

 

this cup that is you

is all you need to be

and worry has no place

within your porcelain frame

 

Heather Pound 2024

Photo by Michael Gusev on Unsplash

the image comes of the days that the

monsoons would arrive, welcome after

the intense heat of the months previous

but muggy all the same

 

this would invariably occur when it was

time to transport children to and from

school—and our crocs we would don

because they gave better protection

than our usual sandals

 

as we waded through waters

at least ankle deep but often

reaching my youngest ones’ knees

 

and i would try to make light of it all

and have fun to distract us from thinking

what the water might carry as rats nearly

the size of cats flushed out of pipes and

drains along the paths

 

we would make it through the lanes

that led to the metro and climb

up the steps before going down

and down

 

and once we had finally trundled

aboard our train, uncomfortably

wet and undoubtedly splattered by

things left better unknown

 

it was always as if the passage

was lighter and people were more

willing to smile even if just to say

‘khuba bristi’ [a lot of rain]

 

i suspect that was because of the

collective adversity experienced

that tore down barriers of wealth

culture and cast and gender

and reminded us that we were all

simply human

and vulnerable

together

 

–life in calcutta  

Heather Pound 2024

Photo by Abhinav Srivastava on Unsplash

what will you do when love comes to call

knocking on the door of your sombre heart

are you comfortable

too comfortable

in the place that you have been

or will you open the sash up wide

to let love’s sunshine in

 

it’s really up to you

you get to choose

 

pay attention to your heart when the cobwebs come in

what little spiders have busily started their webs

name them by name then invite them to leave

because you have something else you would rather

build there instead

 

you may have been living the only way you know how

but if you open your heart to new ways of being

of living

of doing

you might be surprised by what is already

waiting at your door impatient

 

what would it be like to invite love in

would you sit by the fire

socks on

coffee in hand

or would you kick off your shoes

and together dance

 

once again you get to choose

no one will make you do this

there is a lot in this world well beyond your control

but not this

this is yours

this is your gift

 

 

Heather Pound 2024

Photo by Inspa Makers on Unsplash

open your heart, my love, to the possibility

that hope might burst forth again

that even though the journey is long

and your current path is full

of thorns and stones and bandits that steal

 

and even if you are convinced that nothing in this

big broad world will ever change—at least for you

that perhaps it will

 

perhaps it will

and perhaps your future will hold

all the things that you ever wanted

 

and even though today the meal that is served

is crumbs

that is enough to sustain you through

 

and even if your eyes are dry

because all your tears are shed

you just might smile again

 

i see it there

the glimmer on the horizon

naught but a speck right now

but open your eyes once again to see

that although it may be far, far in the distance

do not be dismayed for this is proof that

hope exists

 

and that  you have the vision to see

that change can come

and you can take a breath in slow and remember

that there is always something ahead to look

forward to

 

open your heart to see

 

Heather Pound 2024

Photo by Mike Marrah on Unsplash

i do not need to put on my best dress

wash my face or even change my attitude

in order to come to you

 

i don’t need to clear my jumbled mind

or speak coherently

–you just say ‘come’

 

the invitation is there and free

and all i need to do

is to bring

me

 

Heather Pound 2024

it’s too early even for the birds and yet the cicadas sing

and i arrive in this moment intentional

and wonder what it will choose to offer me today

 

will it be a moment full of peace that refills for life

or will it be a realisation or an ‘ahh ha’ moment

where that niggling thought finally slips into place

and either disappears or brings clarity

to brighten or empower

 

or perhaps it will be the whisper of the holy

–the weaving together of the tapestry of life

providing hope and meaning

 

whatever it is, i will welcome and greet it with

‘hello’

because life is not meant to be grasped until

strangled, but invited to breathe and speak

 

and engines begin to slide past

busily transporting others to the start of

their day

 

and yet i still sit and listen

and there it is, that first trill of birdsong

that welcomes the dawn

and all that the day will bring

 

and i am glad that i sat and waited

pen upon page to hear that joyful

welcoming cry

 

Heather Pound 2024

Photo by Patrick on Unsplash

i feel opened up entire, stripped back, bare

after sharing something tender to my heart today

 

and now i want to retreat, cover back up–or at least

further explain.

 

it is inexplicably difficult

to bring what i have just now

to lay it out, share,

and then just let it be.

perhaps this is part of the heart of what it means

to participate

in courage.

 

–if you’re stuck out at sea then floating is all that is required. 

Heather Pound 2024

Photo by Vicko Mozara on Unsplash

what i really want to say is that this specific example,

this disagreement, this crisis that screams loud is not

what you need to focus

on today,

 

because this is a pattern stuck on repeat getting louder and

louder as trauma swirls and grows.

 

instead, take a deep breath and dive beneath the surface,

courage gathered in close, ready to swim

 

because in the depths underneath are where

the catalyst lies, back to the start when thoughts

discombobulated and ways of coping formed.

 

they may have served you well back then

but are not supportive now, unhelpful

even, inviting harm.

 

underneath the surface is where essential,

constructive clues are accessed, and if you go back

to the beginning, the source of what is blocking the

essential oxygen required to deeply breathe,

the rich nutrients necessary to flourish and blossom and grow,

this is where dynamic adjustments lie.

 

this is the deep-seated and holy work that is painful indeed, but that

ushers in freedom and lasting change–that will then influence

the current crisis booming loud and demanding that is gripping

your thoughts today.

 

that doesn’t mean that every problem will vanish instant, but you

will be better equipped, more able to actively handle what comes today

and every day,

to step outside of patterns long established and habitually traversed,

to gather in agency and skills for new and improved pathways

ahead

 

and continue to swim towards freedom.

 

—this is easier said than done and might require the support of someone to specifically assist, but this lifechanging process is worth every stretched muscle and dollar spent to find it.

Photo by Naja Bertolt Jensen on Unsplash

 

this being human can be such an inconvenience.

up, down, in-between, our moods alter like

the weather and we are often left wondering

what this day’s forecast will be.

 

this is why i am jealous of those that don’t need

to stop as they take life in,

that seem to know just how to manage themselves

well and seldom have emotion blocked up.

 

i am ever grateful for the day that i discovered

that this is a skill to be learned,

that i, too, could manage myself better

each day at a time.

 

but for me this requires a pause, a check in,

not just observing as i go.

poking around under this chair and

around that corner of my heart and soul.

 

but i have learned that this is okay

because this process allows me to see deeply,

to understand better not only myself, but the

plight of humanity vast.

 

humanity at her very worst but also at her best.

that seed planted deep within hearts that the mind

might not know, but is there nevertheless

 

of something to offer, to share with other hearts

that founder around. a warm embrace, a cup of

cold water on a stifling day. things such as these

that not only impact the receiver, but perhaps

even more potently the person that gave.

 

Heather Pound 2024

Photo by Siora Photography on Unsplash

if only i could release that knot,

the one sitting creaky and long

in the middle of my chest.

oh, how deep i could then breathe!

i would gather it all up in a tidy

little ball—and just exhale, letting

it flow from my heart into open air

wide.

 

but even as i think this, i feel its

prickles sharpen as it, like the spine

of a sea urchin, digs in tighter still.

it will not be an easy thing, this

exhale of release.

 

so i draw the spines out of flesh

painful, one sting, sting, sting

at a time—but this is worth this,

to breathe—

 

at last it floats free, like tumbleweed

across the road in stiff winds, and i

breathe in deep

and breathe out release.

 

and then my heart began to sing,

“you are so much more than

that voice that whispers

harsh

‘inadequate.”

 

—whatever the knot is, it’s worth the effort to release.

Heather Pound 2024

Photo by Phạm Chung 🇻🇳 on Unsplash