Heather Pound

those words

once out

can never

be sucked

back in.

 

you may say

they weren’t

meant, weren’t

intended, but

the ear that

absorbed will

still wonder,

still ponder

on nights

when sleep

retreats.

 

guard your

mouth more

than your gold

for its residue

lingers.

 

—our stories are made of words, so be careful to use yours well. 

 

©Heather Pound 2023

 

image:eberhard grossgasteiger/Unsplash

there is a space

that is miraculous,

where the things

that were dead

gasp and come

alive once again.

and once you

have seen this,

experienced this,

you will never

breathe the same.

 

©Heather Pound 2023

 

image:Michele Bergami/Unsplash

the mountain soars above

drawing close her cloak

of cloud white. i wonder

what she thinks of us from

her far off towering heights.

 

“i am still here,” she whispers

to my ear. “i am proof that solid

things do last.”

 

©Heather Pound 2023

 

image:Andreas Sjövall/Unsplash

there you go, peeping out the door

peering through the crack

watching life pass by

 

and i understand that courage is required

but there’s so very much to live

for lurking out that door.

 

so while your hand may tremble and it may

take some time, if you choose

again to make a move

 

and open just a fraction more, then

soon the space will widen and the

light will stream inside

 

—sometimes healing comes in the smallest of steps–but still it comes.

©Heather Pound 2023

 

image:Jan Tinneberg/Unsplash

i feel the stir of the breeze

slight and soft against my skin

and reflect that the winds of

change move slow, too, in

this circumstance that aches

 

as breath catches in my chest

and i long for more than i can

do to move heavens and earth

for this.

 

but mid sigh

i lift my eyes

to treetops waving.

lacy fingers

stirred by a force

in the heavens

that i cannot feel

with my feet

firmly planted

on ground

 

and oh, how they dance!

 

and my heart remembers that

there is more than my

limited experience,

my point of view,

perception.

 

that change

has a force of its own,

that God does things

that my finite outlook

often cannot see

 

and the beat in my chest

joins in, slowly at first

 

but as i stay

in that moment hush,

my heart begins

to slip off her shoes,

lifts up her feet

and starts to dance.

 

—-our perspective isn’t the whole story and sometimes that is where hope is found.

©Heather Pound 2023

 

image:Niklas Ohlrogge/Unsplash

do you know that you have a choice
about what resides between your ears
in that soft, incredible brain? you, not
anybody else, determine if you experience
joy or angst, peace or unrest, fear or faith.
it is your superpower
to wisely wield each day

so, use it well, nurture what you allow to
reside there for long or short seasons, for
it will form who you are and what you do,
how you treat others and what you value,
if you thrive or just survive.

you are not pliant to forces external.
the choice is yours and yours alone.
so do this please–intentionally choose.

 

©Heather Pound 2023

image:Letizia Bordoni/Unsplalsh

 

it’s all those

small things,

all those things

that pass

each day,

 

like the yeasty

aroma of your

morning toast

from the next

armchair over

 

while the tui

outside sings

the rising sun,

 

or the way we

always mention

the weather

between

soft silence

or sips

of coffee

 

or recount

things of note

that we’ve

just read.

 

it’s the little

things like

these

that i soak in

and later recall,

 

things that inspire

and narrate

that elusive quality

of peace

when needed

on difficult

or stressful days.

 

the touchstone

used to invite

calm back

into my world.

 

©Heather Pound 2023

 

image:Casey Horner/Unsplash

they are never in vain,

all the little things you do.

 

all the simple, kind, quiet things

done with ease from a heart that

loves and does love well.

 

just because it is in your nature,

part of your skillset, does not mean

that it is not valuable, not needed,

not desired.

 

because we are all delightfully

different, if each of us would simply

do the things that we do best, hone

our skills, improve our inherent gifts,

 

then we would make the world

richer and fuller and finer, and

would add to the beauty therein.

 

so, keep bringing all of those little

things that come easily to you.

you may value them not,

 

but someone, and others, and

community will.

 

©Heather Pound 2023

 

image:Riccardo Annandale/Unsplash

the earth is weeping

after the swirling sky

awoke, opened

her eyes, and let tears

fall as tributaries.

 

and the wind who felt

confined in all this

emotional expression

took the opportunity

to blow out rage.

 

and the people just

watched and

remembered that they

were insignificant in

the midst of the power

 

of the minute ball of

dust and water where

they dwell in the middle

of only one galaxy of

a 100 billion stars and

 

chose not to think even

further still at the vastness

and terror of it all. instead

they were reminded to

soak up every moment

 

that they are granted,

to seek beauty whenever

it is found and to remember

to love each other well

—and to live.

 

-after watching the destruction in our tiny country caused by Cyclone Gabrielle.

©Heather Pound 2023

image:Shashank Sahay/Unsplash

i thought my chest was scooped

out empty, dry

~~

but as i scanned my ever 

beating heart, i found 

~~

a little bit buried and partially

stale, yet there was still 

~~

a tiny-weeny mustard seed

of faith, that everything 

~~

could still be worked for good.

and i remembered that all that 

~~

must be done was to raise that puny 

seed up to the light, to water it with 

~~

tears. then light can do its holy work 

causing hope to sprout, to grow 

~~

and blossom once again. and all it takes 

is the humblest, most meagre of beginnings.

~~

©Heather Pound 2023

image:Artsy Vibes/Unsplash