Heather Pound

do you feel like you’re in the waiting?

hands outstretched but feet firmly

planted?

 

heart thirsty for more, impatient,

you wrestle with soft restraints

and yet they chafe.

 

and every day you wake with

expectation only to encounter

‘stuck’ once again.

 

this pause forced, it does not

of failure speak.

 

do you remember the bear

hibernating in den,

caterpillar cocooned,

bird resting upon nest?

 

it is nine long months before

a woman gives birth.

 

it may go against our grain

in this fast paced place where

we dwell,

 

but there is always

a season that waits.

 

and, when we lash against that

which withholds, we only create

more pain.

 

the waiting may be undesirable,

unwanted

 

but there is always a reason

for this.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Артём Мякинник on Unsplash

sometimes

when triggers come

or tension builds,

because something

in the now touches

upon sharp things

past

 

do not just disregard,

distract, ignore.

allow even this

feeling difficult

to be respected,

embraced

 

because being

allowed to breathe

is freeing and

acknowledging the

emotion is a huge

step forward towards

the healing.

 

and if the feeling,

the sensation will

not deep breath

calm, then allow

it to be recognized,

intensified even

 

but then–let it pass.

allow it to radiate,

dissipate,

expel

 

flowing out through

your limbs, appendages

and even your pores,

 

from every location that

it would like to escape

until the tension

is gone.

 

and each time this happens,

every uncomfortable space,

you are that much closer

to being exquisitly 

restored.

 

–there is always, always hope.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Matt Perkins on Unsplash

if you give from what you have

whether it be a little or a lot

yet from afar,

you are generous

 

and that in itself

is no small thing

 

but if you create a soft place,

a safe space for others

to come

and experience

right alongside,

 

offering what you have

not only in gifts

but in your presence,

 

then this is the heart,

the art

the understanding

of what it really

means to share.

 

—sharing is not done at a distance, it is up close and personal.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

she caught my attention

as i drove past,

ginger curls flowing

incandescent in sun

 

at the top of a middling

sized tree, she not only perched

but bounced and shook

 

arms back and forth,

feet rebounding with all

that a small frame

could muster,

 

while three young boys

of similar stature

waited to scoop up

fruit that fell below

 

and i wondered who nominated

her to climb, but then reframed

that a girl such as her would

not wait

 

no, she was the mastermind

as well as the executor, and

the lads were simply along

for the ride on adventures

of her design

 

and that the luminescence

in her halo of hair

might not actually be from sun,

but from light that radiated

fierce within

 

and although a week or more

has passed, i still see her

fearless and free

on top of that tree

 

and smile

 

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Vesela Vaclavik on Unsplash

you feel ground up,

crushed, only a

fragment of

what you were.

 

and let’s be honest,

the process

has been painful.

 

but let me hearten you

with this.

 

of crushed up rock is

metal made, and

metal is vital

in the formation

of concrete.

 

so, instead of a life

smashed apart,

broken beyond

repair,

 

you have been

building the elements

of a solid foundation.

 

it will take some

time, and you may

need to be further

mixed, processed,

 

and you will require

time to set

 

but what you will

have in the end

will weather

any storm. 

 

(for my N. American friends, ‘metal’ is gravel.)

–inspired by the words of Paul de Jong

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Graphic Node on Unsplash

it’s more difficult to fold your hands

in apathy than to do even

a small amount from day to day.

 

while rest is of value,

do not sit so long that

the weeds, they sprout

and grow

 

causing a bigger mess,

producing much more hassle

than the one you thought

to avoid.

 

vines grow willy-nilly,

dust invades every nook

and crevice, vermin

multiply fast, rust

corrodes.

 

 

this is infinitely more costly

in the end than to simply

embrace the manageable

and steady from day to day.

 

instead, protect yourself

from indifference that

births regret painful

 

and consumes your peace

as well.

 

apathy is not a neutral

place, no matter how hard

it masquerades.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Jack Sharp on Unsplash

i cannot imagine

life without you.

without your comfort,

without your counsel,

without your ability

to take the smallest

sprig of hope and

to nourish it until it grows

strong and sure and

wraps around my heart

in an embrace that heals

and alters everything.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Rodion Kutsaiev on Unsplash

what is the line that holds you back,

that invisible force that says things like,

“you cannot pass, you do not have what

it takes, not good enough for this path”?

 

who drew that line anyway,

and was it created with a voice of love

or a whisper that destroys,

that limits, that denies, that steals

away potential?

 

 

that line that is visible to your eyes

only, that thief of dreams,  

cashier of lies.

 

if you can identify this, then

perhaps you can evaluate

what is real

what is true

what must heal

what is your boundary by choice

 

and not one that inadvertently

limits you.

 

stride past lines like these

as if they never existed

at all

 

because you are not a visitor

but owner of this space.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by George Evans on Unsplash

–breakup letter to anxiety–

 

i see you hiding over there

as you slowly attempt to sneak

into my day.

 

whispering in my ear that there

are things beyond my control

to be considered.

 

dire things that if only i would

give my time and energy to,

that i MIGHT be able to solve

 

just by worrying a bit, or a lot.

this, the lie that you seek to

infuse into my brain.

 

but i have become steadily more

aware of your despicable ways and 

you cannot come back in

 

willy-nilly any longer, for i despise

the things you do, to me and

to others all around.

 

i have taken down the welcome sign,

brought in all the chairs. we will no

longer sip iced tea together

 

in the heat of midday, or watch the

sunset–and especially not commune

when nighttime comes,

 

stealing my sleep and flowing over

into dreams. no, you are not

welcome here anymore

 

or ever again, and i have initiated

measures to take back the life

that you attempt to steal.

 

and while you might still sneak

up close from time to time, i see

that you are there,

 

the signs that you are near, and you

will never come to dinner or unpack

your bag in my house to stay

 

again. we are well and truly over

and i hope that one day i will not

even need to think or say your name.

 

my mind is set, notice has been given,

–so leave.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by James Garcia on Unsplash

“i notice everything,” he said with a nod

and a smile without meeting my eyes

and at first i supposed,

“how exhausting”

 

but then i began to appreciate

intricate details

through his rendition

and realized that

 

while at times those minute observations

might overwhelm, they also

demonstrate that there is invariably

much more waiting to be absorbed

and appreciated and valued

than what we may think

 

because where my eyes might see

mundane or lack, his eyes saw fullness

and more than enough

 

and many sparkling things that had

always been there, but that i, with

my less focused eyes, had

not noticed

yet

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Mukul Kumar on Unsplash