Author: heatherpound

it’s more difficult to fold your hands

in apathy than to do even

a small amount from day to day.

 

while rest is of value,

do not sit so long that

the weeds, they sprout

and grow

 

causing a bigger mess,

producing much more hassle

than the one you thought

to avoid.

 

vines grow willy-nilly,

dust invades every nook

and crevice, vermin

multiply fast, rust

corrodes.

 

 

this is infinitely more costly

in the end than to simply

embrace the manageable

and steady from day to day.

 

instead, protect yourself

from indifference that

births regret painful

 

and consumes your peace

as well.

 

apathy is not a neutral

place, no matter how hard

it masquerades.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Jack Sharp on Unsplash

i cannot imagine

life without you.

without your comfort,

without your counsel,

without your ability

to take the smallest

sprig of hope and

to nourish it until it grows

strong and sure and

wraps around my heart

in an embrace that heals

and alters everything.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Rodion Kutsaiev on Unsplash

what is the line that holds you back,

that invisible force that says things like,

“you cannot pass, you do not have what

it takes, not good enough for this path”?

 

who drew that line anyway,

and was it created with a voice of love

or a whisper that destroys,

that limits, that denies, that steals

away potential?

 

 

that line that is visible to your eyes

only, that thief of dreams,  

cashier of lies.

 

if you can identify this, then

perhaps you can evaluate

what is real

what is true

what must heal

what is your boundary by choice

 

and not one that inadvertently

limits you.

 

stride past lines like these

as if they never existed

at all

 

because you are not a visitor

but owner of this space.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by George Evans on Unsplash

–breakup letter to anxiety–

 

i see you hiding over there

as you slowly attempt to sneak

into my day.

 

whispering in my ear that there

are things beyond my control

to be considered.

 

dire things that if only i would

give my time and energy to,

that i MIGHT be able to solve

 

just by worrying a bit, or a lot.

this, the lie that you seek to

infuse into my brain.

 

but i have become steadily more

aware of your despicable ways and 

you cannot come back in

 

willy-nilly any longer, for i despise

the things you do, to me and

to others all around.

 

i have taken down the welcome sign,

brought in all the chairs. we will no

longer sip iced tea together

 

in the heat of midday, or watch the

sunset–and especially not commune

when nighttime comes,

 

stealing my sleep and flowing over

into dreams. no, you are not

welcome here anymore

 

or ever again, and i have initiated

measures to take back the life

that you attempt to steal.

 

and while you might still sneak

up close from time to time, i see

that you are there,

 

the signs that you are near, and you

will never come to dinner or unpack

your bag in my house to stay

 

again. we are well and truly over

and i hope that one day i will not

even need to think or say your name.

 

my mind is set, notice has been given,

–so leave.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by James Garcia on Unsplash

“i notice everything,” he said with a nod

and a smile without meeting my eyes

and at first i supposed,

“how exhausting”

 

but then i began to appreciate

intricate details

through his rendition

and realized that

 

while at times those minute observations

might overwhelm, they also

demonstrate that there is invariably

much more waiting to be absorbed

and appreciated and valued

than what we may think

 

because where my eyes might see

mundane or lack, his eyes saw fullness

and more than enough

 

and many sparkling things that had

always been there, but that i, with

my less focused eyes, had

not noticed

yet

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Mukul Kumar on Unsplash

when all you can see is darkness,

remember the light.

 

remember that all that it might take

is one single step around the thing

that may block it.

 

it is so much closer than you think,

and just because you cannot see it,

feel it

in this moment exact,

 

you will always find it again,

always.

 

and it only takes the tiniest sliver

of light

to push away

the dark entire.

 

so today, if all you can do is exist,

then that is fine

 

because tomorrow your hand just might

find the latch that opens you up

to light once again.

 

remember this,

remember the light.

hold it in your mind, 

hunger for its warmth.

 

look for just one spark

and then the next,

and let it guide you 

back to its shine.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Joshua Rodriguez on Unsplash

 

you stare at the page,

white and empty and waiting

to be filled

 

and feel the walls close in

 

wanting so much to fill that

space, longing to write, to

express, to create,

 

but you just can’t.

 

and then you must

remind yourself

that we all need those

blank space days,

 

days that we do not push

to fill, we just let them be.

 

days of waiting and gathering

strength for what is to come

when the mind will buzz and

the page will be filled again

 

with more creativity and passion

and maybe even a smidge of

wisdom

 

so, try not to look at blank space

as a pressure to be filled. just

smile and think of all that will

come again

 

after you wait.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

i went out into the world

and saw many broken things

and somehow i found myself

feeling like they were all my

job to change

 

and then i discovered that it was

simply too much for one heart

to bear–and completely beyond

my skillset alone

 

and i crawled into bed more than

a bit battered and bruised and

protected my heart fierce lest it

should shatter

 

and when i peeped back out from under

the covers, i resolved to never do life

in that particular manner again

 

i still wanted to empathy spread

far and wide

 

i still wanted to be part of things that

are healing and freedom bringing

 

i still wanted a life full of purpose and

meaning

 

but now i let the weight of responsibility

for everything else slide right off my shoulders

and only foster specific things

 

things within my skillset, things that i

have the power and capacity to do

and i also allow for space that

nourishes and replenishes me

to keep on moving

 

it’s not that i care any less about

the world at large or that my passion

has decreased, but now i take

what i have been given

and make it into more

 

and trust that others will do the same

and that we will carry the weight

of the world, not alone,

but together

 

brick by brick, stone by stone

one precious individual

at a time

valued

 

–i’m still not afraid to try on big things, just living with a different perspective

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Nina Strehl on Unsplash

the interweaved tension of

hope bright for all that is future

yet calm acceptance of all that

is now–this balance

is difficult.

 

a teeter-totter relationship,

of matching the weight on both sides,

perched upon the fulcrum of life

that sometimes

rattles and shakes.

 

if ‘the now’ is not counterweighted  

by ‘the hope’ of something finer,

something joyful, wonderful

and full of meaning,

 

then despair can invade with

force torrential crashing down

when life

gets hard.

 

but if hope is the focus alone

always only looking forward

it adds pressure to the now,

the now that needs acceptance

as is for peace to be present

 

or tension expands and eventually

builds around all that currently is

until white-knuckled, holding on

becomes part

of survival

 

both must be acknowledged, both

embraced, both offered the light of day,

 

both as real as the air that we breathe,

unseen except by the force of what they

can do

 

and the balance of what these two

together can achieve

is powerful,

is peaceful,

is healing

 

is worth the effort to intentionally

maintain and might be profoundly

harmful

if neglected

 

-we need them both, balanced 

Photo by Niklas Ohlrogge on Unsplash

i wake to the wonder of a world

still spinning, a tiny dot in the

vastness of space

 

and listen to birdsong drifting in

air, songs that have been sung

by multitudes, but are still beauty

discovered within the throat of one

 

and breathe air fresh, the breath

that life gives, abundant and 

cycling ever new.

 

i marvel then in the way my limbs can

move, i still rise and walk and

grasp and think.

 

and while nothing has changed,

everything is yesterday same,

today i am filled with wonder

 

and think that everyday

i should pause and notice many things

such as these.

 

because life is infused with beauty

and every day is marvelous,

worthy of the pause

to notice and honor.

 

so, look tall and wide and far

and high until your heart is

permeated by beauty as well.

 

it is always, always available

and is even closer than you think.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Oleksandra Bardash on Unsplash