©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
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
Heather Pound 