Heather Pound

i want to let you know

that when your friend is

feeling low

 

your advice is more than likely

the last thing that they need.

 

instead, sit right down beside

open your ears and eyes

up wide.

 

let them know they are not

alone, and resist that very

human urge to fix

or advise

or evaluate

and especially

most importantly

zealously

do not judge. 

 

give them your time

your regard, your presence.

make that place safe.

 

believe in them

and then together

sit and

just

simply

be….

 

and if any conversation occurs

then let them take the lead.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Angelo Pantazis on Unsplash

when i came into this world,

eyes wide and overwhelmed with wonder,

i deduced that there was light here

and that the light was good

and what i wanted most in this world

was to absorb as much of it as possible.

 

perhaps this is what has strengthened bones

when clouds have covered sun,

when the rains fell fierce

and darkness crept ever nearer.

 

and if i have only one thing

to bequeath to you

it is this,

 

be a seeker, absorber and

passionate follower of the light

and then, even by default,

be a bringer of light to all

that you meet.

 

this i believe with so much ferociousness

that i would give all that i have to grasp

the coattails of light’s last ray,

even for a moment more to bask  

in the glow.

 

so, breathe in light until there is no

room for darkness left within your

frame. let light grip your hand and

never fear darkness again.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Isumi Daizy via Unsplash

in the spirit of transparency

i want to let you know

that while i may appear,

sometimes at least,

put together without,

i am always learning

to be put together

within.

 

no matter what your

impression of me may be,

i still have things to learn,

i still have spots blind.

 

i still work towards

kindness and ever-always

general put-togetherness.

 

i may look sorted outside

but some days i am

rumble-tumbling on the in

fighting insecurities,

battling emotions,

sorting out my

frequently tangled

thoughts.

 

i keep thinking that someday

maybe i will arrive, but

perhaps it is better this way.

it keeps me humble,

 

invites me to have short

accounts with myself and

others , remember my Source

and consistently teaches

multitudes of helpful things.

 

so, if this is any way like

you are, too, i see you.

 

let us nod and offer quiet, kind

looks of understanding as we meet

upon the street–but i am open

to high-fives, too.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Jennifer Griffin on Unsplash

while you inherently,

devotedly, vehemently

might despise the

raging battle

 

you never would

have gotten where

you are now without

the power of its

influence,

 

would have never

found the strength

that gathered within,

 

never have fostered

the growth that you

needed to arrive

at the place that

you are today,

 

stretched those

limbs

developed those

lungs.

 

and if there  

was never a battle,

fierce as it may be

 

you would not have

found the gold  

or discovered

victory.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Rod Long on Unsplash

i will not lie,

you may not ever get over this,

but you can get through it

 

one foot in front of other

one decision at a time.

 

and i will not sugar-coat it,

the going may be more arduous

than you ever imagined

 

but if you keep on moving

you will find that walking becomes

easier with each passing mile and

the gravity that pulls you back is less

 

and less, until one day you will realise

just how far that you have roamed

and that experience monstrous

is but a dot in distance.

 

your wounds, while scarred, have

healed now and very seldom ache

and your heart that felt like boulder

heavy is buoyant and gathers in the sun.

 

and you will lift your head and gasp

with the freshness of the air in lungs

that struggled once to breathe

 

and your eyes, blinded previously

by waterfalls of tears, will drink in

beauty once again.

 

i will not minimize the things that you

are feeling now…

 

but i can assure you without a shadow

of a doubt, that as you keep on going

and moving

and breathing

and living,

you can–and will –get through.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Noémi Macavei-Katócz on Unsplash

you can sit right down

and endeavour to create,

but this mystical

force is not found

in one moment,

at one place,

or in one time.

 

no, inspiration

must live

and breathe

from day to day

by noticing the

music of the

insignificant,

 

attuning the ear

to the unspoken,

being in the

moment enough

not only to notice,

but to chase the

beauty therein.

 

so, if creativity is

your aim, you must

first take the time

to be awake,

to engage,

and to be present

 

with the appropriate

astonishment necessary

to capture the fireflies

of imagination glowing

as they flit past on the

evening breeze fresh.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Guilherme Stecanella on Unsplash

she paced by the roadside anxious and confused,

feathers even whiter with the dullness of the day,

and i wondered why she waited.

 

but there he was upon the road, not long breathless

and still, wings outstretched.

 

and i hoped the driver had at least slowed if they

possibly could, but perhaps it was an accident entire.

 

i was surprised at how quickly and intensely

i identified with her pain, and confusion, and

anxious gait, restless.

 

if only there was something she could do, she could try,

she could produce to save the other, yet her world

had changed sudden, instant.

 

and i began to smell the heat of morning sun, hear

insects buzz and pigeons coo, the humidity

press against my skin, especially this,

 

from the day i felt the same as the father of my children

lay on kitchen floor, not by any accident external,

but sudden violence from within.

 

…it is funny how senses recall even when concrete

memory blurs…

 

and yet i took the next breath and the next, both back then

and on the road today

 

and remembered how all the breaths in-between had taught

me many things

 

how to slow, how to regulate, how not to slide into panic

overwhelming, sudden.

 

my senses still went back to that place, but neural pathways

have rewired, and even though a hot white horror lingered

for some moments in my chest,

 

my head knew that that was then and this was now and that

for myself, nothing had changed today.

 

and as i drove onward, still sympathetic for that frantic duck,

i breathed in deep and satisfied for myself, because

even though PTSD is a taskmaster brutal and visits

 

inconvenient, that does not mean it is a helpless sentence

life-long. and for myself, thanks to the passing of years,

hours spent talking to professionals, practice,

and boundless Grace,

peace and freedom have mostly come and have

remained.

 

—if you experience PTSD, please know that there is hope on the journey ahead, but ask for help anyway.

Heather Pound 2023

photo by Cathi Geisler

it sounds a bit

cliché to say

but in every

sense and in

every way

 

my home is

where you are.

 

the longer

we’re together

wherever

that may be,

our roots go

down to earth

and intertwine.

 

our hearts,

they beat

in time.

 

it’s not the place

where we

reside, it’s

the person

we’re beside

 

and you

are always,

continually,

increasingly,

committedly 

my home.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

other people’s expectations

of how you should walk,

talk, dress, relate, perform,

and many other things

are not your burden to bear.

 

do not allow them to cage

you in. for while some of

their advice might be of use,

you get to choose what that

is or what that is not entire.

 

to accept their unfettered

opinions without discernment

creates nothing more than

a prison that keeps you

bound up tight,

 

while you are the one that holds

the lock and the key. so do not

look for approval from those

who would rather see you

bound.

 

in those meaningless interactions

with those that pass you by, you

also can decide how to interpret

their glances as either

judgement or approval.

 

and why do you often not even

consider the source, looking for

admiration from those you do

not even value. keep a tight rein

on whose opinions matter,

 

place yourself high upon that list.

evaluate the expectations of others

and if you choose to, stretch out

capable hands—and let

                them

    go.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Taylor Kopel on Unsplash

if you have people in your life

who cheer you on and believe

in you to grow and do greater

things and to be better as well,

you are fortunate.

 

do not take them for granted.

 

foster these relationships

worth a king’s ransom

for they are the balm of

the soul weary and the

inspiration to get up

and try again.

 

and if you are one of these

people to me, i cannot express

how much even your cup of

cool water has nourished

and given me strength

and allowed me to

 

believe that i am not wasting

my time as i grow and try to do

better and be better and to

encourage those around me

as well.

 

and anything that i bring to

this table in the feast of life,

could not and would not

have been prepared

 

without people

like you.

 

©Heather Pound 2023

photo by Cathi Geisler