Author: heatherpound

sit with me beside the sea

and let us watch the waves

and maybe you’ll remember 

that there is power beyond 

your own frame of reference

and fantastic beauty 

to be found

all around 

~~

and that disengagement

that you have worn as 

part of survival long

may start to fade

if we sit here and 

watch together

in hope

and wait

~~

©Heather Pound 2022

image:Dylan Sauerwein/Unsplash

you do not 

complete me.

in fact, no one 

else is meant to. 

~~

this idea of completion

is a killer of relationships,

unrealistic in expectation

and execution.

~~

it’s entirely

unreasonable

to expect YOU

to fill the void

that makes me 

whole. 

~~

my insecurities,

my issues, my healing

required. these are

mine to bear, 

not yours,

not ours.

~~

but complement 

each other we do. 

we fit together 

like hand and glove 

because we have 

executed adjustments

repeatedly,

~~

large and small 

required.

done the mahi,

put in the effort,

and have chosen

each other again

every. single. day.

~~

we are two 

imperfect people

pursuing wholeness

together 

~~

and loving each other 

wholeheartedly

along the way. 

~~

and because of that

my cup is full.

and when you are near

or even far away

i feel the completeness

we have each found

and share 

together. 

~~

©Heather Pound 2022

image:Roselyn Tirado/Unsplash

to embrace 

the new

you must 

relinquish old.

as much as 

you may have

loved the season,

it has passed.

~~

and all that is left 

are baubles

strewn around.

so many crumbs

of things

that were. 

beautiful, 

treasured,

laced with memory.

~~

and while you

are allowed

to sit with them 

and remember

as often as

you wish,

do not be slow 

to put down these 

playthings past, 

walk out the door

and live.

~~

——grief never really leaves, but it adjusts to make space for other stunning things. 

©Heather Pound 2022

image:Kelli McClintock/Unsplash

you must be still if you want your inner muse to speak

just think of all the songs never sung, paintings left undone,

poetry never written because we were too busy 

to be still

and listen.

~~

©Heather Pound 2022

image: Alex Seinet/Unsplash

the daylight slips away 

and songbirds sweetly sing

the day to close

~~

and i, who used to 

fear the dark, breathe deep

and relish in the hush

~~

joining nature in her rhythms

tranquil, for all must

slumber and refresh

~~

and tomorrow’s troubles

are not today’s and need 

to keep their place

~~

and night is nothing to be 

feared when a heart chooses

peaceful and content

~~

©Heather Pound 2022

image:Carson Arias/Unsplash

i heard a song i used to sing

back when living on knife’s

edge, never knowing 

one minute to the next

if peace or cyclone 

would billow ‘round.

~~

the melody speaks hope 

of shelter safe even 

within the tempest, 

and i would belt this loud

back then in faith that 

joy in morning comes.

~~

and i paused and let tears

come, grateful. incredibly,

astonishingly so, because i

never knew back then just

how far i would leave that 

space, how wide the chasm

would become, how much

healing i would gain.

~~

and how fragrant fresh 

life would now be. and 

I am humbled by grace 

and its power to recreate, 

and that it was gifted me.

~~

©Heather Pound 2022

image:Barnabas Hertelendy/Unsplash

a plump little song thrush perched on top of the apple tree

where dewy leaves had appeared only just this week 

it sat nonchalant as if to say, “no need to look.

i am just watching the day pass by.” but the worm 

waving in its beak when its head flicked back and forth

told a somewhat different tale.

~~

the charade continued until the other birds in the garden flitted away 

and the seagull overhead soared on past, wings outstretched wide

then purpose, intentionally hidden, struck sudden and sure

leaping into the air, like an arrow towards a target

the thrush shot into the hedge. 

hopefully high enough where my inquisitive cat

will not find the babies most certainly nestled there.

~~

©Heather Pound 2022

image:Christine Kozak/Unspalsh

i am not sure which is more difficult,

not accepting the pressure to be more than we are

or being careful to not be less,

because all we really need to be is ‘me.’

~~

not trying to stuff in talents where they just don’t fit

angles not right, curves too severe,

shrinking who we really are in the process just to make space

because one container can only hold so much

and is designed for specific things.

~~

using the design well, operating within those strengths,

feeding them, nurturing with care,

those things bring fulfillment and even expand.

stretching and growing, pregnant with purpose

giving birth to joy.

~~

but when something just doesn’t fit, 

isn’t within our makeup

even if we admire it from afar,

will only give birth to misery

when we try to force it in.

~~

©Heather Pound 2022

image: Unsplash/Noah Butcher

i know that feeling nothing

has been your saving grace,

~~

protecting you and allowing

you to keep on existing.

~~

but now, waking within

your soul–is joy. 

~~

a bud that longs to flower, 

to spread petals at long last.

~~

to feel the misty dew, 

the warmth of sun upon its face,

~~

and you do your diligent best

to invite this blossoming.

~~

and i am in awe of your courage 

because you also wholly recognize 

~~

that this stirring of emotion requires 

you to likewise feel the burning, 

~~

the ache buried long and deep beneath 

the surface; raw, bleeding and inflamed. 

~~

you face the injury as a dragon that must 

be slayed, and i am inspired 

~~

by your tenacity, how you continue to 

fight and find the strength.

~~

©Heather Pound 2022

image:Flavio Gasperini/Unsplash

when the hard things come

fast and heavy we may become 

afraid to hope for better

things, living on a diet of 

starved, bare minimum,

unsatisfied, safe. 

~~~

unlike a child on christmas morn,

afraid lest we are disappointed

once again.

~~~

we forget that there is magic

to be found, unexpected delights, 

everyday joys and that anticipation

of these makes life worth savoring.

so, do not snuff out the hope that is 

yours to embrace, do not waste 

her shine.

~~~

she is a diamond to be cherished,

worn extravagantly, not wasted.

for when you neglect her presence

she might be stolen by ‘despondent’ 

whose grubby residence will 

spoil the household within, 

entire.

~~~

evict this freeloader before he settles

and clean out the space,

spotless. 

~~~

then sit under a tree or stare at the waves

and generously invite hope back into your 

mind and especially your heart,

brave.

~~~

©Heather Pound 2022

image:Ian Schneider/Unsplash