Author: heatherpound

there you stand, dipping in your 

toe to test the temperature.

is it too hot or too cold

too challenging or too tame

too tiring or worth the effort 

or are you just afraid.

and meanwhile life is passing

you by, so just jump right in

the water is fine. 

~~~~

©Heather Pound 2022

i wish that i could kiss away 

your sorrows and tears 

like i could when you were small 

and a mother’s hug 

made everything better. 

and the fact that i believed in you 

was all the consolation

that you needed.

~~~~

but you are older now

life is more involved.

and while experience 

has taught me that you

will make it in the end 

i cannot just make you

believe the same. 

hardship comes and 

this hurt is more palpable 

than just a skinned knee.

~~~~~

if i could carry your pain, i would. 

if i could make your heartache 

my own, this is something that

i would walk a thousand miles to do. 

but now that you are grown

you must carry it alone

and i must watch—and let you go.

~~~~

but when and if you wish 

i am always here 

to be your shelter in the storm. 

~~~~

©Heather Pound 2022

you used to wear anger like 

amour protective, cinched in

and impossibly tight. but now 

you are clothed with a banner

of kindness instead. 

~~~~

eyes unveiled to see others’ 

needs and hands free to lend 

a helping hand. and I must say 

that while you underrate the gift 

you have to give and think that 

~~~~

‘others must just do it too,’ i can 

remind you that they don’t. and this 

is due to the choices you have made

and that path you have embraced

because it could have been different.

~~~~

and while i used to often worry, now 

i don’t because you have all the 

character that you need gathered 

in close to live a life full and free 

as you drink the cup of kindness.

~~~~

©Heather Pound 2022

i am grieving a little, lovely poem 

that was in my head three days ago, 

but at the time of inspiration

i was much too busy to record.

~~~~

alas i can still see her frame 

but her essence now is sadly gone. 

her sister may visit in days to come 

but will never look just like she was. 

~~~~

this is not a terrible thing compared 

to major tragedies, of course,

but i think that it is still a shame as 

of her i was quite fond. 

~~~~

—busyness, while sometimes necessary, is the killer of creativity. 

©Heather Pound 2022

i pulled weary eyes away from the screen

to peer out the window, refocus, sighing

then because the day was joyless and grey 

~~~~

until i saw a tui, my favorite bringer of song, 

perched just outside, and unaware of my gaze. 

a quiet moment for him to preen, 

cloud-like plume at neck bobbed.

~~~~

tui’s feathers in sunlight are glossy, coal-black, 

and often not noticed unless they sing or the 

‘pffft pffft pffft’ of wings announce their flight.

~~~~

but due to the dullness of the day, i saw his costume 

closer than ever before, and glimpsed his 

colors true: teal, blue, bronze, iridescent swirls,

and intricately painted with finest brush.

~~~~

and i mused that absence of sun can be beautiful too, 

and turned back to task, but with a welcoming of the day

and a soul that was filled with light.

~~~~

—sometimes words just can’t quite capture a moment……but i tried, and this is a lovely photo, but still doesn’t capture what i saw!

©Heather Pound 2022

i picked up a habit along the way

of spending too much time worrying 

about things completely out of my control.

this i found to be rather tiring, to say the least,

until a very smart lady told me to 

write down my fears on a piece of paper,

one at a time. just get them out.

then slip them in a special box and put that

on a shelf. and when the same 

worry comes up again, look at the 

box and know that the worry 

doesn’t live inside you anymore,

you have put it in the box, paper prayers.

then every once in a while, open the box

and read of your fears. more often than not

those nagging worries were insignificant 

and have worked out just fine on their own

but definitely without my ‘expert’ involvement,

and i have lived lighter and slept a lot better, too.

~~~~

©Heather Pound 2022

the fog rolls in soft and comforting.

tendrils of mist whisper, “this is okay. 

you are safe, protected. you do not need 

to venture out of my embrace. that time 

will come, but not just yet. so, curl up 

on cushion soft and wait for me to leave. 

take the gift i offer now–of rest. 

~~~~

©Heather Pound 2022

sometimes

in the middle 

of seasons

of perseverance,

just doing what

you need to

every single day,

a morning will 

dawn, fresh

and clean and 

with the rising sun

you will be surprised

at how your soul

also rises within, 

and how if you stop 

even for a moment

and observe, the joy that

you thought was sound

asleep lifts up its dozy 

head to greet the day,

this impossibly exquisite

new day that swiftly dawns.

~~~~~

—surprised by joy 

©Heather Pound 2022

when i was younger

i worried about who may

or may not invite me to

the table. i feared rejection 

and saw loneliness waiting 

in the wings. and to be 

completely honest the older 

me does still somewhat 

worry about this as well.

~~~~

but my head now knows

that difference is an exiting

thing. that we are all not

‘same’ for a reason, that

diversity is what inspires

great legends, the painter’s

brush, the minstrel’s song,

the adventurer’s map.

~~~~

this beauty is thrilling and 

varied and there really 

is enough to go around. 

so, if i am not your cup of tea, 

please drink coffee instead. 

that is fine, and between us we 

make a much more interesting 

and vibrant banquet for us all.

~~~~

©Heather Pound 2022