Heather Pound

someone i admire was asked

how they came through the hardest

times and made it out the other side

~~~~

the answer was simple, they paid

attention to beauty and no matter

what else came their way

~~~~

beauty was always there, always

available, always free–if someone

takes the pause to see

~~~~

it’s as if they said that while

famine, war and shame exist

—there is also THIS

~~~~

no matter what the world throws our way

no matter what happens within

the confines of our frame

~~~~

there might also be a tree of brilliant yellow

right outside the window or a cat curled  

tight upon our lap for warmth or a bird

~~~~

serenading in the garden just because it can

with dew upon the daisies in tall grass

so, while there is evil and ugly

~~~~

–and make no mistake, there is–

there is still always, now and forever

always also THIS

~~~~

©Heather Pound 2022

when you say that you

cannot see the way forward

so how can you have hope

~~~~

i reply that if you can see

the outcome, then hope is

not needed, no, hope lives

~~~~

in the place, the space, the

part of you that can believe

in possibility and better things

~~~~

especially when you cannot see

~~~~

©Heather Pound 2022

childish faces from time past

cherished grins and beloved frames

–how is it that a single photo

can take your breath away

~~~~

take you right back to the details

of that moment and to a place

where you miss those people

who still exist, but who have

~~~~

grown and changed and if possible

made you love them even more

but yet it would be inexplicably lovely

to go back, to spend even one hour with

~~~~

who they also used to be, to pull them

onto your lap and cuddle once again

to listen to their chatter on the events

of the day, of what went right and

~~~~

what went wrong, to be the one that gets

to hear these precious things, to smell

their skin and capture that moment in

greater detail once again because you

~~~~

blinked and now they’re grown and

while you wouldn’t change the person

they’ve become, you still miss the one

they used to be

~~~~

©Heather Pound 2022

if we want to heal

we must feel the feelings

while millions of humans before us

have tried to escape this

–there is just no other way

~~~~

they will bubble and brew

and expand until they escape

some way or the other regardless

~~~~

so while highly uncomfortable

to let them out slowly

like the hiss of a bottle of fizz

it is better than bottling them up

for years, uncomfortably tight

~~~~

only to explode or debilitate

with force

despite all of our best efforts

to minimize

~~~~

this is the difficult work

that is healing

~~~~

this takes courage

~~~~

but this is the way to freedom

from those things

we would rather avoid

~~~~

yet hold us captive

while we pretend

to be okay

~~~~

but imagine what it will be like

to finally

be free

~~~~

—acknowledging and paying attention to our feelings is the first and incredibly vital step towards healing

©Heather Pound 2022

i do not care what you have heard

from the lips of a society cold

but you are not your pain

your shame or your despair

~~~~

no, these are things, they

don’t define, they are just

a cloak you wear from time to time

when the temperature drops

~~~~

and the world is cold or sometimes

by habit when sun still shines

and just because they happened

you now you possess these

~~~~

things you never thought you would

but as seasons and styles change

so will the cloak that you wear, and you

yes you, my friend, can make this cloak

~~~~

your helper, take it in your hands, reconfigure

the cut and fit, become in charge of when you

choose to put it on, and fashion it instead

into something beautiful and worthwhile

~~~~

from these things that happened TO you

but never back then, and never right now

and never will they ever be

who you ARE

~~~~

©Heather Pound 2022

words create thought

and thought creates pictures

and images

and entire scenes of life

~~~~

so carefully choose

what words you allow

into that precious space

then let creativity flow

~~~~

because language is a verb

~~~~

©Heather Pound 2022

there is a pot on the balcony out front

that has held more ill-fated plants

than i would care to admit

~~~~

alas, while the pot looks attractive from

the drive, i cannot see it from within and

have failed numerous poor pitiful creatures

as they wither and die alone and forgotten

~~~

until i remembered the air plant i was

given that i carelessly tossed out back

it has flourished with my neglect and now

resides in the tragic vessel, content

and i do absolutely nothing for its care

~~~~

now when i come into the drive

instead of seeing repeated failure

i see ‘cunning solution’ instead

~~~~

–it’s okay to adjust expectations into something more manageable

when we walked through the rose garden

and you noticed the droplets of dew

on petals of cream that had

seen better days, this is the moment

that I knew—-

you would be okay

~~~~

because a person that can see the beauty

in moments like these has the skills

they need to gather the light

one ray at a time

and to broaden the cracks

to let more sunshine in

~~~~

be a seeker of the light,

grow this habit

hold it tight

look for the small

and insignificant things

that are beauty at its core

~~~~

and you will always

have the perspective

you need to take your eyes

off of your own despair

on those awful and terrible days

that come as a part of life

and to notice something beautiful

in the world around once again

~~~~

and then to remember that you, yes you,

are also a part of this

~~~~

—-if you need it to be, this is your one job today: look for something, anything beautiful

©Heather Pound 2022