Heather Pound

i see you, that soul so full of light

that you just might burst,

yet mixed with contradictions

of experience and memory

that sometimes block the sun.

 

and while today is one of those

with shadow, still your inner

light, it vividly shines.

 

i see it in your smile,

in the tender ways you operate,

 

for you have learned the secret

that shadows always fade–just wait,

that light is monumentally  

greater than the dark,

 

and you grow in the direction

of where your focus lies.

 

you have learned from

the banana and flourish,

increasingly curving towards

the sun.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Max Ducourneau on Unsplash

you have not been okay for some time

and this is okay as well.

but now you notice how long that it has

been since you have sincerely smiled,

truly been in a space to notice much at all

–and you long for change.

 

you do not have capacity for much effort,

for much beyond what you currently carry,

but i am here to tell you that not much is

required other than to gently, oh so softly

allow the door of your heart to open

inch by inch, bit by bit

 

to the beauty that is the world around.

in fact, remembering who you are,

that you are a seeker of beauty, not 

simply a container for burdens

will balance out the weight

of your soul.

 

so, release the tethers that bind.

open that door once again

and remember that the sun

still shines

 

and that being present to the

beauty is the antidote to the

numbness of your painful heart.

 

beauty is there, i promise,

waiting to embrace you

with its glorious dance.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Dave on Unsplash

sixty odd years of life and love bound

shared memories, joy and sorrow, laughter, experience partnered.

what can she do as reason unravels? as things are forgotten?

illogical demands, unreasonable ideas trying to take control.

finding solid ground in the confused space for him

perfectly reasonable to him

soul sapping for her.

 

you can say, “it’s not him, it’s something other

brain connections misfire. please just remember.”

but what if it were your lover, your partner in life, your very best friend?

would words fall so easily then?

advice feels better in the moment, but can be arrows in the heart.

 

just listen, let her speak through tears, let him tell stories when lucidity arrives.

let them know they are not alone, that life can still be celebrated

that good days will follow bad.

for what else can be done?

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Nina Hill on Unsplash

creativity is a stream

that sometimes flows

swift and sure

but also can

become clogged

with the

refuse of things

like worries

and cares

and grief

or something sitting

in the heart

that clutters and

restricts the flow

 

and we can wait

for an unknown

amount of time

for the blockage

to pass, or we can

endeavor to

help this along

ourselves by

modeling what

nature does

and sending

a torrent that

will clean and

restore the flow.

 

you can do this

by sitting down

with pen or brush

and just write

the words or

draw the scene

regardless

 

do not think about

what you 

produce, do not

revise or judge

along the way

—just put down

any words you have

or paint any scene

you see or whatever

form of creativity

you possess.

 

do this, and then

the next day

do it again,

 

and repeat as

often as

required

 

and while you

may not create

anything you wish

to keep, the simple

flood of content

can wash away,

unblock the flow

and restore your

creative stream

bubbling bright

and flowing free.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Ron Otsu on Unsplash

you bounce around, excited

your presence fills the room.

gesticulating hands, and

modulated tones

 

your face shines with

the passion you exude

as you speak of things

within your heart deep.

 

you said that you wonder

if you are too much,

take up too much space,

 

if you should draw yourself in,

become less, retreat.

 

some have suggested this perhaps,

but i think you live at just

the right volume 

 

and that this world needs

more of the enthusiasm and

vision that you bring.

 

so, please keep being ‘you’

and don’t deny us of what

you have to offer, just because

of a few nay-sayers.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Dayne Topkin on Unsplash

you sit there drawn in tight

arms crossed in self-embrace,

like a coiled spring waiting

 

and you wonder when the other

shoe will drop, when tragedy

will strike again,

 

because trauma has already

shouted in your world

loud

 

and whispers still that it might

return with haste at any

given moment.

 

since you have experienced this,

this lid lifted off to reveal

possibilities dark within,

 

it can be difficult to seal back in.

i see this, i know this.

 

but together let us consider

the good. let’s notice and

honor all the times that

the sun has shone instead.

 

moments so stunning in beauty

and safety and heartfelt living that

statistically show that something

wonderful is likely instead.

 

and if you spend your time

waiting for the tragedy only,

 

you will never notice these.

 

so, even if only a fraction at a time,

unwrap your arms cinched tight,

spread them wide, bit by bit,

 

and experience finally the beauty,

the amazing, awe-inspiring, glorious

daily grace that makes life worth living

 

and offsets and even exceeds, yes, eclipses

the dark.

 

i believe you can do this.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Kateryna Hliznitsova on Unsplash

when your parents did not parent

in a way that was absolute best

for individual you,

 

–this often is the case since even

for the best of parents, children

come in all shapes and varieties

 

without manual included, and

were parented by imperfect

people as well—

 

then you must learn to parent

yourself better than what

was received.

 

embrace this responsibility

serious, learn your own ways

well and do your level best

 

to direct yourself as needed.

to soften edges sharp within

your very own heart,

 

to engage with process healing.

because however many left

your days may or may not be,

 

each and every one of these

has the prospect to be better

and more richly lived

 

with even a modest amount

of intention.

 

and if the adult you does not

take up this task urgent,

there is only yourself

to chide.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Suzi Kim on Unsplash

as I sit beside and ponder
all the things that make up you,
the things you have done, your
accomplishments both small
and tremendous,

yet it’s the essence of who you
ARE that has mattered.

you have made a difference
to so many, going above and
beyond and always wearing
the face of the one whose
name you represent faithful,

and I want to be more like you.
in fact, if I have a hero here upon
this earth, you are one of these.

and now that your heart is tired
and your breathing will soon slow
i find that in this I want to be like
you as well—-

for what will your eyes not long see,

what faces will you encounter, what
sights will you behold?

and it will not be long until you hear
the words, “well done,” spoken loud
and long, and then you can fold into
the arms of the one who will never
let you go.

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Danie Franco on Unsplash

i do not need to defend you,

giver of life, bringing of peace,

because you can stand on your

 

own two feet, and have been

doing this far longer than i have

been in existence.

 

but i do implore you, beseech,

that you show yourself both kind

and strong to this person i love

 

who needs your light and life

and right now, thinks that you

are but a dopamine rush in

my brain and do not really

exist.

 

you have chosen to make yourself

un-seeable, unexplainable

 

and this generation who have witnessed

hypocrisy indeed in the frame of your name,

have chosen science and things proven

as their source of wisdom and truth.

 

and while i can’t blame them really,

i also cannot deny the presence of

things that cannot be seen

 

because you have made known to me

impossible peace and joy in the midst

of the worst that life has to offer,

 

you have walked beside me as i

drank from streams of life and love

and joy,

 

you have been my light in dark places

and put strength within my bones,

 

my companion constant.

you have never let me go.

 

as you have done for me and still

every day do, please shine your light

in a way that cannot be

explained or missed

 

and let this heart tattered

understand that you will do this

for them too.

 

–i have chosen to generally use my writing in a broad, less in-your-face way, but this is who i am, too, and this is what my heart needed to say today. 

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by David Clode on Unsplash

Photo by David Clode on Unsplash

too many distractions that have

become habits keep your mind

from embracing the space that

it requires

 

crowding in and taking over like

the buzzing of a full hive bees

 

adding in one by one

until it becomes a roar insistent

 

while your heart

whispers fervent

for peace.

 

only you can cut off these things

and make space for your heart

to speak once again.

 

this may be painful at first,

allowing space for the unpleasant,

 

but is a process less painful

than the shoving down of all

things big and small that plead

for your attention

 

until your heart like the house

of a hoarder messy becomes,

one teetering tower away from

disaster imminent.

 

so, take steps in the present, today

to listen to your ever-beating heart,

 

for whether you are aware of it or

not, it is the source of all things

true, the essence of who you are

and it will be heard,

one way

or another.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Esteban Abalsa on Unsplash