Heather Pound

you wonder what it means to be honest entire,

to recognize deep what you carry within,

to know the drip, drip of sound and exact

volume of your tears, to recognize both the

pleasant and the painful, to welcome both

within your mother heart—and  to offer  

that heart towards yourself.

 

for how else can you go forth into the world

other than what you truly are–damp and new?

how can you nourish and become the better version

that you desire if you do not honour what that is

whether you are drawn to her person—or not.

 

she did not arrive in vacuum. no, she

is conglomerate wide of all experience,

of ups and downs, of highs and lows and of

many leagues traversed in the in-between.

 

she is both full of the luxury of choice,

and of periods limited by ‘survival’—and

yet she often judges herself more harshly

for the latter.

 

is that fair? is that honouring?

is that even remotely kind?

 

so, learn from her mistakes,

 

but offer her limitless volumes of grace.

she did the best that she could at the time.

 

when you look back upon the journey,

you clearly see that anything that was not

authentically you was nothing but a heavy

stack of baggage piled high, weighing

endlessly down, step upon weary,

drudging step.

 

and you know this as truth—that you

are the sum of many things, and you carry

enough already so, lay these down and

recognise in peace that the things

that remain, that invite you to smile,

are shoots grown strong from the root

of the most genuine, the most honest,

the most authentic version of you designed.

 

and in truth, you like her indeed, and all

that she has needed all along to thrive

is to be allowed to simply raise her head

released from the weight upon her neck

—and breathe.

 

Heather Pound 2024

Photo by Matthias Oberholzer on Unsplash

sometimes,

all that is needed

is an ever so slight

adjustment of focus,

and that, all the

difference makes.

 

for example, just try

doing everything today

from a position of love

as opposed to a station

of fear.

 

or practice self-forgiveness,

offering grace for all the things you

consistently, constantly

berate.

 

or maybe focus on who you

want to be today and tomorrow

and after, rather than lingering

upon what’s past.

 

perhaps adjust to see through

eyes that look for all that is

beautiful and good, for you

will discover evidence of

whatever you choose to

seek.

 

or quietly stop asking ‘why’. why me?

why this, why now, and focus on,

embrace, what comes next

instead.

 

try even one of these

for a single, entire day

and remember that

you have the power

to choose,

 

that attitude really is

everything, and that

where your focus lies

matters.

 

just try it, i dare you,

and be amazed

at what horizons

remarkable come.

 

Heather Pound 2024

Photo by Shot by Cerqueira on Unsplash

Photo by Hannah Wright on Unsplash

for all of the things i can do

nothing about,

i am grateful.

 

because if i could wave

a magic wand and

change everything to

what i think in this moment

that i or others might need,

 

then i would much

damage do indeed.

 

the assumption that i always know

best would be a misconstrued

figment of a finite mind.

 

and can you imagine the

stress that would ensue

to become the chief, the boss,

the general manager of

the universe after all,

 

with the complaint box full

to overflow and everyone

railing against your decisions

big or small?

 

no, i think it is far better

to be just little ‘ol me

and to wait and see

with the best of us

how things will

work out

in the end.

 

Heather Pound 2024

Photo by Cathi Geisler

on the days that the light shines,

do not look for dark.

 

do not waste even a single second

wondering when the forecast

will change

 

and if the sun, since it shines today,

does that mean the clouds will

soon follow?

 

because the truth remains that they

always will at some later, uncharted

time

 

but that does not dampen today’s

remarkable shine.

 

in fact, doesn’t that make today

all the more precious and worth

the savour?

 

Heather Pound 2024

Photo by todd kent on Unsplash

peace so thick

like early morning fog

descended down to earth,

breathe it in deep

 

this is no small feat

to experience this quiet in our

tattered, tumultuous world

 

so, when it appears, even

fleeting, we must inhale

in quick before just like a mist,

poof, it is gone

 

and may i gently remind us

ever so soft, that peace is never

at its most enveloping, most

life bringing as when it is felt

right after a storm

 

–storms have value, too.

 

Heather Pound 2024

Photo by Aleksandr Ledogorov on Unsplash

this is my humble apology

to all of the words that i didn’t deem

‘just right’ to remain upon the page

 

that i heartlessly and callously

swept aside, deleted.

 

it wasn’t that you weren’t good enough,

that your shape and form and personality

didn’t please.

 

it was more about the general timing of

our meeting and location upon the page.

 

so, with that said, please know that honestly

it’s not you,

it’s me, really

 

and i genuinely hope

that we can still be

friends.

 

Heather Pound 2024

Photo by Glen Carrie on Unsplash

let us gather up close all that we have

and hold dear

 

and let us handle this, these priceless

and remarkable things with sober care,

thankful

 

meanwhile let us also be open

to the fresh and clean and new

 

that blank space

that empty page

that song yet unsung

 

to not be limited by what is past

or by what failures we deem

ourselves rightfully charged,

callously laid with trembling

hands upon our own doorstep,

cruel

 

instead let us breathe in the gift

of grace

 

and observe the hopeful glimmer

of early morning mist.

the sun as she stretches and yawns

and says, ‘this is another day, new’

 

let us be brave and eagerly

take a hold of all that glitters

with promise

 

and become the magpie,

collecting the shine

of our very own trove

of treasure, glittering

with hope and

possibility

 

Heather Pound 2024

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

yesterday, while sitting

by the sea, a man ran down

to shore, urgently gesticulating and

waving for his children to come back in.

 

his caution spread and soon we saw

the fin as well, coming quickly up

and down not too close, but perhaps

not far enough for comfort.

 

and it took a bit more time

until we all could see

that instead of triangled,

the fin was curved

 

and rather than caution extreme,

delight ensued instead

 

and then we saw two. a mother

and a calf cavorted in the lazy

afternoon sun.

 

and as we strolled away

after a time,

 

i wondered how much of life

is spent assuming a shark,

when only a dolphin is there

instead.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Chris Galbraith on Unsplash

how did one small babe

fresh and soft and new

 

born in hope

swaddled in calm

alive in love

 

make the heavens

and angels sing

and hearts rejoice

down through the

ages?

 

he, the conduit

of peace, the marker

of how God himself

considers of all of us.

 

this is grace

upon grace

 

and my wish for you

is that your soul

will feel its value

this day and

every day,

 

and that you will

never ever doubt

your worth again.

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Mike Labrum on Unsplash