you are not broken
you are simply
ready to mend
waiting
but take heart,
mending is not
necessarily a painful
surgery of repair
mending is sometimes
a step by step process
of learning how to dance
Heather Pound 2024
Photo by Olivia Bliss on Unsplash
as you wake today, pause and wonder
how did these lungs just breathe
and this heart keep beating
even as you slept unaware?
and how the sun crept over
the horizon to warm your home
and heart, notice this
none of this is a small thing
they never are
and none of these should be taken
for granted
notice and you will realise
that your own quiet life
is always, forever
a miracle
Heather Pound 2024
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
i want to wake up this morn
with eyes open, shades lifted
to look around and fizz
with wonder at it all.
this soft chair, cat curled on lap
my beloved sits the next chair over
sun streams in windows bright
a full day beginning with the option
–to focus on either light
or shadow
and, oh my, isn’t there just so much light?
Heather Pound 2024
photo Ales Krivec via Unsplash
you look down at the cracks by your feet
ugly and difficult for the ants that scurry
there–but you see from above.
you see that the breaks in cement
do not extend far enough to upset
the balance of the path
it is still safe, it is secure
it will not shatter sudden
you can step over or around
or even walk sure-footed
right upon these cracks.
they are finite, they will end
a more even surface is
but paces away.
so when life has developed cracks
splinters, boulders or anything that
might restrict your path
do not look down—look up
up to the Eyes that can see
what yours cannot. and to
the heart that knows what
it is to walk daily down here
with us
yet sees things clearly
from above
Heather Pound 2024
Photo by Wayne Robinson on Unsplash
what is this weight that you carry,
head drooped, shoulders bent
with the effort of it all?
before you stumble,
fall exhausted from the
strain—stop
consider, please.
surely, at least a portion
of what you’ve gathered
is not your burden indeed.
you have the option
the necessity even,
to lay down your bundle
to pick-and-choose
before you one step
further take.
to consider:
am i weighed down by a problem
that is not mine to solve?
if so, then lay it down…
is it worth the effort
required to keep walking
with this particular pressure?
perhaps it is time to let it go…
is it within my power, do i have the ability
to change this?
if not, then throw it up into the wind
like a dandelion gone to seed….
and watch it
b
l
o
w
away.
–freed
Heather Pound 2024
Photo by Marek Szturc on Unsplash
simply for the love
he catches the wind
over the waves
skimming side to side
one wing at a time
grazing the surface
completely without fear
instinctively knowing
the ways of the sea
the currents
both of the water
and the air above
the tools he chooses
and wouldn’t you choose them too
if all that was required
was to spread your wings
to soar?
–the albatross we saw
Heather Pound 2024
Photo by Rodolfo Mari on Unsplash
come to life with expectation
that what has been
is not what always will be,
that you are older
wiser and carry
more strength than before.
come to life with curiosity
hands outstretched to
grasp what arrives next
and next with courage
not rushing but
not holding back timid.
come to life with stability
seeking to walk with
steadiness, knowing and
learning more about who
you are and accepting
responsibility for the aroma
that remains in your wake.
come to life with intentionality
taking what you have received
and doing the best that you can
with knowledge that grows and
becomes wisdom flourishing.
but perhaps most of all,
come to life with grace
never forgetting that you
are only one part of the
ensemble that makes up
humanity
—but that you are also a
treasured part of these.
Heather Pound 2024
Photo by Jean Gerber on Unsplash
i once lived in a place that was hard
impoverished—its people often
wore this as lines upon their faces
in this environment my soul
was starved for beauty,
distracted by the suffering of humanity
around
until i began to zoom in my gaze
to anything beautiful no matter how small
the colour of a wall, the carving on ancient door
a flower that blooms between cracks in cement
and i noticed and learned and grew to appreciate
what was there to be grasped
rather than being constantly distracted by
all that was not
Heather Pound 2024
Photo by Victoria Strukovskaya on Unsplash
i saw a whole pod of dolphins today
twenty odd strong, they leapt across waves
and two pigtailed girls playing a clapping game
with smiles and grins
more complicated and lengthy than
the ones i used to know
and people passed with ready smiles
as gentle waves rolled on and on
and all that is light and right with
the world felt near
and while i know that elsewhere things may
be dark—and frequently are
today i drank only of the brightest and best
filling heart and mind and soul
with beauty
when times like these come, grab them
and on days when they don’t…
remember and hold close
the days you drank the light
Heather Pound 2024
when your life that was once whole
appears as porcelain plate
upon the floor, shattered…
take heart
this is not the end.
you still can breathe
you still can think
you still can gather
pieces together.
but first,
allow all the
things that are
to just be, accept them.
observe them laid out there
then listen to the pieces
as they speak
telling their stories individual
acknowledge what insight
what caution
what savvy and understanding
wisdom
they already retain.
(these lessons are uniquely yours)
then sweep them up careful
to keep in safe place—as treasures.
these are parts of you,
your gifts, your learning
your legacy, heirlooms fashioned
to be passed down to your
children’s
children’s
children
these pieces of your life
although currently smashed
upon the floor,
they matter
–this is not the end of your story
Heather Pound2024
Photo by S. Tsuchiya on Unsplash
Heather Pound 