Author: heatherpound

the morning of the launch of my book
was like the day of my wedding
where I’d focused on planning the celebration ahead
for days and weeks before 

but on the daybreak of, i realised 
this was a time where things near and dear
to my heart, things most precious and cherished 
would be on display 

and the vulnerability of this 
well, it made me shake.

quite literally on the day that i wed 
as i posed for photos and the muscles of my smile
trembled and i had to frequently pause and breathe
to get the photos we wanted 
and the photographer wisely said
let’s just take a silly one and we pulled funny faces instead.

i love that photo still since it’s just me and my kids
letting the ‘proper’ slip and our inner weirdness out
and isn’t that vulnerable too? 

another favorite of that day is when we were caught
the six of us in our first official family hug, unplanned, unnoticed 
affection on display, exposed
a couple across an ocean now wed
four fatherless children held by strong arms.

and it was the moment when i was 
reading out poems from my beloved book
and the faces watching began to respond
and i saw the words that were mine
connecting with them, that i remembered 
vulnerability is nearly always worth it.

heather pound 2025

Photo by Jeremy Podborny

a morsel of wisdom is worth
every wrinkle upon your face,
grey hair above your head.

she is the blanket soft, yet fierce
of those who have wandered long enough 
to realise that even when 
she instructs you walk a path 
more rugged than you’d choose,
that her advice is worth it.

she is a warm and velvet comfort 
that rests upon your skin,
yet more watchful, protective, honest  
than any kind of armour polished
you used to strive to wear.

life with her is peaceful, pure
more than you ever comprehended
when your simple, constant default
was to take the easy road 

and all the things you gathered 
when you were merely young 
and have needed to unlearn

were worth every tear you shed
as you leaned right in and learned 
the harmonious, crystal voice 
of her wise, protective words. 

                                    ~heather pound 

Photo by Getty Images

if you walk out your door anxious
looking here and there for information
that proves you are somehow defective
or not enough

that you don’t quite fit in 
or are inherently strange
in the opinion of others around, 
the truth is---if you seek evidence
of things like these
                 then you will always find it.

but here is what you must understand 
before you waste another moment
trapped in cycles such as these:

this fact, it is true for e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e
everywhere 
always,
each and every human 
has experiences like these. 

but the beauty of this phenomenon 
of finding what you seek
is if you alter what you’re 
perpetually searching for
                 then you will find that too.

heather pound 2024

Photo by Josh Hild on Unsplash

after living in places far and wide
country to country
locale to locale,
i delight in the fact that 

i live in an area now
where i run into people i know
casually at the chemist
or walking along the beach 
    (walks take much longer this way)

that the man who owns the dairy
stocks my favourite
harder-to-find popcorn
just because i like it
    (seriously. just for me)

that i live within walking distance
to dear friends who would all
band together should emergency arise 
    (we discuss this happily from time to time)

that people here get overly excited
about things like lower petrol prices
or the opening of a supermarket 
    (big news indeed!)

and post on online community pages
when emergency vehicles wail past
    (making sure everyone is okay)

that there are miniature fairy villages
down by the beach at the bases of trees. 
they are undamaged and are 
still being added to several years on
    (no one knows who’s doing it!)

it’s not that this place is perfect but 
it’s a quiet place where i know others
and am known
    (and it’s mine)


heather pound 2024

Photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplash

i wake to the sound of birds

and the squeak of him shifting

in his easy chair right outside the door

 

he will have been up for an hour

at least, first coffee already consumed

as i slept on

 

a rhythm of life we’ve discovered

since he falls asleep practically as

pillow embraces head

 

and i do not, and for an hour or so

nightly read by sheltered light once

his soft snores begin beside

 

as i throw off covers and open up

the door, the cat jumps up from his lap

for my morning scratches then

 

leads me out to empty bowl insistent.

and the morning begins as usual

peaceful

        routine

                chosen

                         beautiful  

 

heather pound 2024

Photo by Stephanie Harvey on Unsplash

there you are, hanging on

for dear life to the edge

of the proverbial cliff

 

you cannot look down

to find your escape

lest your hands slip

and you fall, broken

 

you cannot climb back up

with arms that are weakened

and shake

 

so you keep holding on

for something, anything

to lift you from this place

 

and while you wait anxious

hoping that help will come

if only you stay still

 

sometimes, the reality is no one

really understands the intensity

of your experience

(you might just mask it well)

 

unless you take a deep breath

be vulnerable to

open your mouth

 

and tell them…

 

and if they don’t take you

seriously at first

then tell them

louder once again

 

                    —cliffs are not meant to be

                          quietly endured

Photo by Julian Hochgesang on Unsplash

sometimes

the things people say that are

meant to be complimentary,

words like survivor or strong

in various different ways,

to you–they ring a bit untrue

or sting

 

since it wasn’t like you

asked for the hand you were

dealt

 

it wasn’t that you simply rose

as phoenix from the ashes

made new

 

because, really–

putting one foot in front

of the other was something

you had no choice

but to do

 

and just because you can

carry the weight you’ve inherited

does not mean for one second

it isn’t really, really

heavy

 

–but i hope it’s lighter than it used to be

 

heather pound 2024

Photo by Mikita Yo on Unsplash

if you could see the whole story

of someone else’s life,

see the hurts and the pain

the aching needs unmet

the things that were shattered

and crushed

 

if you could see the rejection

how they were abandoned

and the things they were

required to endure

 

then you would never

look with distaste

or shake your head

at these one or two things

that trigger your judgment

fierce

 

and you would view them

with naught but the softest

most tender

the most understanding

of lovingkindness

instead

 

heather pound 2024

Photo by Melissa Askew on Unsplash

if i have anything to give today

anything worth putting on a page

it is this—

 

that life may not always go

as expected

that people can let you down

betrayed

that your journey might often

be filled with pain

 

–but without things such as these

how would we recognize goodness

when it gathers in close?

 

and how then would we know

how absolutely crucial it is

to open our hearts hopeful

to seek out the Light?

 

heather pound 2024

Photo by Allef Vinicius on Unsplash

the word ‘diagnosis’ startles, jolts

echoes like a slamming door

and while i know

this was information sought 

and information beneficial  

 

there is also loss, a sadness unexpected

for years and years gone past

where had i known

(but no one knew back then)

i might have done things different

 

for one

i would have judged myself less…

 

i would have judged myself less

understood

 

and maybe life would have been sweeter

as i lay in bed at night rethinking the day

and self-acceptance would perhaps

have sooner come

 

and anxiety might not have pinched  

with talons so sharp and constricting

with the extra effort required

to function as ‘normal’

 

maybe i could have offered myself grace…

 

and while grateful for the knowledge

grief must now be felt

(grief and self-pity do not taste the same)

 

so, i will sit, let this settle

before i return grateful for insight

granted to make a difference now

–and for the superpowers wrapped up

with adhd

 

tomorrow i will smile encouraged

but today, to feel this–is honest

 

 –for all my dear friends, this was written earlier this year, but i am sharing now for the benefit of those who can relate 

 

heather pound 2024

Photo by Christian Kielberg on Unsplash