Author: heatherpound

the people of the land

in the place where i

reside have a stunning

way of introduction.

 

they do not start with

the telling of their name

given to them at birth,

instead they speak first

of their mountain.

 

that piece of earth, the

landmark, the bedrock

of their background,

tall and fast and of

ages long past.

 

they are saying, this

is where i come from

and through this you can

understand a little of me.

 

let’s consider our wider

connections, and

remember that we

are always part of

community.

 

that even as we meet

for the very first time

that we may somehow

be connected, and that

we do not ever really

make our way alone.

 

©Heather Pound 2023

image:Olena Sergienko/Unsplash

i occasionally wonder if i

will someday run out of words.

if all the combinations of nouns

and verbs and syllables will have

already been said.

 

but then i remember that the

conversation has existed far

longer than myself, and the

communication will continue

long after i am gone.

 

these precious words that

connect and inspire and describe

beauty itself. that link thought

and experience, that inspire change,

and even paint entire worlds.

 

and today we get to engage

and continue the love affair with

words that are mightier in battle

than a sword but are far better

when simply used in love.

 

©Heather Pound 2023

image:Tommy Lisbin/Unspalsh

what is it that holds you back

from all the things that you

ever wanted?

 

is it the concept of change,

that dive into the unknown,

the potential risk of fall?

 

i know that you have all

you need, have prepared

for this for long

 

and whether or not the motions

are smooth or need correction

on the way

 

do not focus the fear, my dear,

just focus on the dive.

 

©Heather Pound 2023

 

image:Abyan Athif/Unsplash

just because you may

not feel ‘right,’

the light may be dim,

and the shades of your

heart are drawn

 

this does not mean that

something is wrong

‘with’ you, this concept

that it is a failure to

not always wear a smile

 

–just let it fly away.

and remember that things

may have happened ‘to’

you. things that have

impacted towards tired,

 

or encouraged your joy to

flee. these things are external

and berating yourself for

their influence will only

add to pain. instead,

 

give yourself space to

recover, recharge,

regenerate, and be careful

with the charges you lay

at your very own door.

 

then when the time is right,

turn on the bedside lamp,

stretch and wipe your eyes,

throw up the sash and let

the light shine forth again.

 

–i wonder why we often hold ourselves to account when things wear us down that are actually outside of our control?

©Heather Pound 2023

 

image:Julian Paul/Unsplash

you may not understand why this journey is

so hard, why it takes so long with so many

bumps along the way

 

but as sure as the sun will rise on this morn

and the next, i believe that clarity will come

 

and all those pesky things that make no sense

right now, will clarify and brighten. and that

one day, maybe not this day or the next,

 

but one day, it will tell a story worth hearing

and you will see that there was purpose to

each chapter of this tale.

 

©Heather Pound 2023

image:Jayden Yoon ZK/Unsplash

those words

once out

can never

be sucked

back in.

 

you may say

they weren’t

meant, weren’t

intended, but

the ear that

absorbed will

still wonder,

still ponder

on nights

when sleep

retreats.

 

guard your

mouth more

than your gold

for its residue

lingers.

 

—our stories are made of words, so be careful to use yours well. 

 

©Heather Pound 2023

 

image:eberhard grossgasteiger/Unsplash

there is a space

that is miraculous,

where the things

that were dead

gasp and come

alive once again.

and once you

have seen this,

experienced this,

you will never

breathe the same.

 

©Heather Pound 2023

 

image:Michele Bergami/Unsplash

the mountain soars above

drawing close her cloak

of cloud white. i wonder

what she thinks of us from

her far off towering heights.

 

“i am still here,” she whispers

to my ear. “i am proof that solid

things do last.”

 

©Heather Pound 2023

 

image:Andreas Sjövall/Unsplash

there you go, peeping out the door

peering through the crack

watching life pass by

 

and i understand that courage is required

but there’s so very much to live

for lurking out that door.

 

so while your hand may tremble and it may

take some time, if you choose

again to make a move

 

and open just a fraction more, then

soon the space will widen and the

light will stream inside

 

—sometimes healing comes in the smallest of steps–but still it comes.

©Heather Pound 2023

 

image:Jan Tinneberg/Unsplash

i feel the stir of the breeze

slight and soft against my skin

and reflect that the winds of

change move slow, too, in

this circumstance that aches

 

as breath catches in my chest

and i long for more than i can

do to move heavens and earth

for this.

 

but mid sigh

i lift my eyes

to treetops waving.

lacy fingers

stirred by a force

in the heavens

that i cannot feel

with my feet

firmly planted

on ground

 

and oh, how they dance!

 

and my heart remembers that

there is more than my

limited experience,

my point of view,

perception.

 

that change

has a force of its own,

that God does things

that my finite outlook

often cannot see

 

and the beat in my chest

joins in, slowly at first

 

but as i stay

in that moment hush,

my heart begins

to slip off her shoes,

lifts up her feet

and starts to dance.

 

—-our perspective isn’t the whole story and sometimes that is where hope is found.

©Heather Pound 2023

 

image:Niklas Ohlrogge/Unsplash