Heather Pound

when you put a seed

down into soil deep,

you must wait—-

because that seed will

never germinate, grow

if you keep digging it

up to check on its

progress

 

i know this is hard,

but it’s just the way

that it is with all

things plant, and

most everyone’s

heart.

 

you must simply

gently water,

make sure

there is light

–and wait.

 

©Heather Pound 2023

image:Syed F Hashemi/Unsplash

beginning—

a powerful

hopeful,

miraculous

word.

it thrills the

soul and steals

breath away.

 

a moment of

brevity, yet

infinite

possibilities

in execution.

 

it starts with

a breath and

leads to an

entire world

of tender

prospects.

 

a fresh start,

a second

chance.

 

and the morning

dawns, and the

magpie sings,

and all creation

begins again.

 

©Heather Pound 2023

image:Aaron Burden/Unsplash

i want to make something clear

as gently but as clearly as

i possibly can, because i keep

hearing messages of other than.

 

of people who have struggled

long because of things they have

heard and absorbed. thoughts

that rubbish the entirety of

who and what they are.

 

and even heard this in places

that are meant to be holy.

 

when you were formed out of

dust, within your mother’s

womb, God looked upon you

with profound love and declared,

‘what i have made, it is good.’

 

and while in this world there

are things fallen, horrible,

unspeakable things and there

resides within each of our

hearts the potential to foster

either incredible good or ill

 

but know this, God sees you

as entirely lovable, worthwhile,

worth cherishing. so much

so that he would move heavens

and earth for you—and this

he did.

 

you are full of traits, features,

personality, talents, gifts

and abilities that make you

unique. that make you–you.

 

and each of these was carefully

crafted with love by the one

who spun your life into motion

before your very first breath.

 

and he does not make rubbish.

 

and you are something

exquisitely spectacular

indeed.

 

and the voice that says

otherwise in your head

is not the one who

carefully, lovingly

and intentionally

planned–you.

 

so, shake off that dust that

clouds your vision, open

the window to your soul

that has been stuck tight

–and shine.

 

©Heather Pound 2023

image:Maria Teneva/Unsplash

©Heather Pound 2023

i hope that when you

follow a map that takes

you down the road to

regret that you

remember the way

back well.

 

drop some breadcrumbs,

mark those trees, for

this path is one that

will chill your bones

and mar your flesh.

 

it will steal your hope

more boldly than

an ant at a picnic.

it will dim the light of

your heart as you

punish yourself unkind.

 

the reflective road of

hindsight, however,

allows you to see with

perspective gained.

 

it remembers that you

can now use tools and

information that you

had no access to

before.

 

challenge it may still,

but it’s message is

infused with kindness,

lessons being learned,

 

and it’s road is paved

by wisdom and healing

and covered with a robe

of grace.

 

—-look back with hindsight rather than regret

©Heather Pound 2023

image: pawel szvmanski/Unsplash

the people of the land

in the place where i

reside have a stunning

way of introduction.

 

they do not start with

the telling of their name

given to them at birth,

instead they speak first

of their mountain.

 

that piece of earth, the

landmark, the bedrock

of their background,

tall and fast and of

ages long past.

 

they are saying, this

is where i come from

and through this you can

understand a little of me.

 

let’s consider our wider

connections, and

remember that we

are always part of

community.

 

that even as we meet

for the very first time

that we may somehow

be connected, and that

we do not ever really

make our way alone.

 

©Heather Pound 2023

image:Olena Sergienko/Unsplash

i occasionally wonder if i

will someday run out of words.

if all the combinations of nouns

and verbs and syllables will have

already been said.

 

but then i remember that the

conversation has existed far

longer than myself, and the

communication will continue

long after i am gone.

 

these precious words that

connect and inspire and describe

beauty itself. that link thought

and experience, that inspire change,

and even paint entire worlds.

 

and today we get to engage

and continue the love affair with

words that are mightier in battle

than a sword but are far better

when simply used in love.

 

©Heather Pound 2023

image:Tommy Lisbin/Unspalsh

what is it that holds you back

from all the things that you

ever wanted?

 

is it the concept of change,

that dive into the unknown,

the potential risk of fall?

 

i know that you have all

you need, have prepared

for this for long

 

and whether or not the motions

are smooth or need correction

on the way

 

do not focus the fear, my dear,

just focus on the dive.

 

©Heather Pound 2023

 

image:Abyan Athif/Unsplash

just because you may

not feel ‘right,’

the light may be dim,

and the shades of your

heart are drawn

 

this does not mean that

something is wrong

‘with’ you, this concept

that it is a failure to

not always wear a smile

 

–just let it fly away.

and remember that things

may have happened ‘to’

you. things that have

impacted towards tired,

 

or encouraged your joy to

flee. these things are external

and berating yourself for

their influence will only

add to pain. instead,

 

give yourself space to

recover, recharge,

regenerate, and be careful

with the charges you lay

at your very own door.

 

then when the time is right,

turn on the bedside lamp,

stretch and wipe your eyes,

throw up the sash and let

the light shine forth again.

 

–i wonder why we often hold ourselves to account when things wear us down that are actually outside of our control?

©Heather Pound 2023

 

image:Julian Paul/Unsplash

you may not understand why this journey is

so hard, why it takes so long with so many

bumps along the way

 

but as sure as the sun will rise on this morn

and the next, i believe that clarity will come

 

and all those pesky things that make no sense

right now, will clarify and brighten. and that

one day, maybe not this day or the next,

 

but one day, it will tell a story worth hearing

and you will see that there was purpose to

each chapter of this tale.

 

©Heather Pound 2023

image:Jayden Yoon ZK/Unsplash