Author: heatherpound

i cannot begin to fathom

why i was born me

and you were born you,

 

my sister in humanity as

we ride beside each other

on transport public

 

in your own country.

i did nothing to earn

my seemingly privileged

 

position, not wealthy in

my own land but incredibly

so in yours. yet who is to say

 

that you are not privileged in

matters of consequence greater.

i do not know your life, your story,

 

and you do not know mine.

so, right now we will sit here quiet

and gift each other with met eyes

 

and occasional soft smiles as we ride.

because even though we live

worlds apart we are both human,

 

both women, this,

our universal bond 

regardless of the rest.

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

that thing that tries to stifle,

control, to frankly ruin your life,

i will tell you this in truth

–it lies.

 

this habit that used to help

you manage, numb or

somehow grasp control

is no longer serving you

at all,

 

and you have suspected for

quite some time that you

are presently subservient

to it–instead.

 

addiction is a monstrous

taskmaster and if you do not

confront its favorite weapon

‘denial’ and throw heart and

soul into facing   

your giant bold,

 

that hurt, that experience

the ogre that started

the pattern that you

were always desperately

trying to escape from,

 

then addiction will

likely win.

 

and i for one, would

weep if this the case

becomes, for i have

seen this devastation

up close, to the person

–and to everyone they love.

 

but i firmly believe you possess

intrinsic tools that support. and  

a source of strength supreme

that has been submerged,

 

forgotten, but is waiting

to rise to the service to

enable you for such a

time as this.

 

and now is the time to rail

against all that which

lies, take your stand,

and begin the fight of

your life.

 

because that is exactly

what is at stake,

the battle to take back

the rest of your days.

 

and do not be discouraged

if the path forward is one

that zigs and zags. as you keep

your goal of freedom in

 

sight on the horizon,

the zigs will lesson and

the zags will only correct

your path but a little bit.

 

and i believe that you

can do this

 

and that your life will ring

bright and full and joyful

with the sound of healing

and freedom.

 

—if you or anyone you care about is fighting addiction, then this is for you–with love.

Photo by Jordan Whitfield on Unsplash

the scene changed in an instant

from one of trepidation, doubt

to a vision of anticipation of

things to come.

 

it is amazing how a single adjustment

in attitude or thought can make

all the difference, even when

nothing else really changes.

 

from one breath to the next

a whole world of possibility

reborn.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Catalin Pop on Unsplash

i want to consider kind eyes.

eyes that see the world at large

through a lens of kindness, and

extends that offering to others

around.

 

but also, desperately needed, is

for these kind eyes to turn within,

generously accepting who you

may or may not be.

 

the pressure to be something that

you are not just because someone

else is that characteristic can loom

large, let us put that one away firm.

 

the judgements that you make when

you glance into mirrors smooth,

things you would never demand of

others. let us fiercely replace those

looks with the kindest of

ones as well.

 

and what about your faults, things

you strive to change, but the

journey is slow. what would it

be like if we gazed upon those

with kindness, too?

 

oh, to have kind eyes for yourself

and the world around. what a

productive, healing change of

consequence that would be.

 

and one already available right

here, well within our range of

choice that can change the

world–for free.

 

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by MohammadHosein Mohebbi on Unsplash

this place of sadness is not my home,

neither is the space that is anxiety.

i may visit them, yes, but my

true home is found in the place

of peace.

 

and if peace is a bit dusty today

i can walk right in, broom in hand,

the rightful owner of this house,

and get to work

 

dusting off worries and surface cares

plumping the cushions, making the tea,

and sitting down in front of fire friendly

to savor this place, this space, this peace,

my home.

 

peace can feel elusive, lost far off

in the distance, but is often just

a bit of intentionality and

sorting of self away.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Luke Stackpoole on Unsplash

you are rightfully so very tired

of the season that you’re in,

branches barren and leaves

dormant for far, far too long.

 

and all you want is a bit of

springtime sun to filter through,

to warm those limbs, give

solace from the wretched chill.

 

–and let me say that i have empathy

extreme for this–

 

but i wish also to remind you soft

that winter is a season of much

progress indeed.

 

that while appearance is not

given of much beyond survival,

this is the time when roots grow

deep into soil, gathering nutrients

 

for the season to come.

accumulating goodness,

storing lifegiving water away

for warmer, but drier days ahead.

 

and while unpleasant, the tree

would not be prepared to bud

and blossom into leaves and bear

all kinds of delicious fruit

 

were it not for this season cold.  

so, keep on surviving. know that

this itself is victory. be assured

that this feeling of nakedness to

 

the world around does not mean

that you are not producing all kinds

of good and valuable things that just

need the change of season to flourish

 

bold. you have not seen the seasons

change as often as i have yet,

but as long as the earth keeps on

spinning–springtime always comes.

 

i will promise you this.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Fabrice Villard on Unsplash

you wave your hand and say that your

experience is not as painful as that

person over there somewhere so,

you shove those

emotions down,

minimalize.

 

but, i tell you this credible, there is

always, always someone who has

had it worse, more pain, more harm,

more broken,

 

yet that does not lessen the fact that

what happened to you was traumatic,

herculean even, and that it has left

its mark indelible.

 

this is not weakness, this is human

 

and the kindness you urgently need

is to tell your head it’s okay for

your heart to hurt, and demand

gentleness soft on its behalf.

 

it is okay to provide it with the air

that it desperately needs to breathe

so, healing can commence, and to

 

offer this on repeat as often as

required. this will not remove the

experience entire,

 

but will allow it to be knitted

into the fabric of your story in a way

that strengthens, not impairs, woven

right there into the middle

 

of so much that is good. and instead

of the wound growing ever larger  

and festering the longer ignored,

 

it will more manageable become

and will even add strength to your

bones in the end.

 

so, I beg you, do this now, as soon as

possible,

today.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by averie woodard on Unsplash

the egg shakes and then it cracks

as the chick inside fights its way

into the wide,

wide world.

 

and while every parent wants

to ease the struggle,

soften the

journey,

lessen the blow, it is

 

essential that the chick must 

fight this battle for themselves.

for every great champion has

 

trained for the task and every

hero of legend has become strong

through the walk of life and the

lessons therein.

 

and everyone who does anything

of intrinsic value on this beautiful

ball of blue, is someone who has

also discovered that life isn’t so much

 

about what you do, but is first and

most importantly about the character

of who you are. and nothing can be

gained by a chick who has had

 

everything pried open for them

continual. this is the hope that every

parent must hold close to their chest

as they support their offspring

 

while allowing them to learn

to succeed

and even to fail

on their own.

 

perhaps this is the most difficult of

all lessons that a parent must

discover–when to

support

and when to

let go.

 

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Denis Rayson on Unsplash

if you do not feel you can handle

this life for even one more day,

there is reassuring news indeed.

 

your history does not your future

need to be.

 

if those feelings and memories

loom large and invite you to think

back where you have been,

 

then take a breath, and start again

–as many times as you may need–

and this life that you live today can be

 

increasingly distant from the one that’s been

as you lift your eyes and look to horizons

wide, different paths, alternate directions.

 

it may not feel like it

right in this moment,

but you, even and especially you,

have the power to make this happen,

 

to modify direction, no matter how small,

leads to enormous change, like arrows

drawn on page that start on the same

dot, but with the most minimal variation

grow increasingly apart with distance.

 

and this does not need to overwhelm,

the process can be as gentle as required,

and all these small, manageable things

together are mammoth in the end.

 

and i for one, cannot wait to see

what your life becomes.

 

and please remember, those burdens from

yesterday are far too heavy for this journey

ahead, so do not worry about when or

where or just how you do it—

 

but put them firmly down.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by s. asah. on Unsplash

if you try to ignore the ache, gloss over, avoid,

shove down,

 

sooner or later it will overwhelm, anxiety

or maybe even worse numb, which also

anesthetizes any sort of joy,

or exhausts, even for years.

 

in nature we remove oxygen for a flame to subside

but trauma and sadness must breathe  

be noticed, losses acknowledged.

 

because when sorrow can speak, even eventually,

the container it lives in grows and makes room

for many other things.

 

and would you really want to snuff it out entire?

because joy is the sister of heartache

and grief intermingles with so many amazing things

once there is enough space.

 

and joy comes in the morning

so, hold on for that first ray of sun.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Titouan COLOMB on Unsplash