Heather Pound

I am regretful, my love,

for those words that

just left my mouth

critical, unkind

Something that I had not

noticed yet bounced

off my own heart, unexpected,

and targeted yours instead,

and for this I must

most earnestly apologize

~~~~

I will stop now, take space

and listen, grapple with this

clue that I have been given

and find the culprit in my heart

instead of continuing to ask

you to bear the brunt of an

issue that is mine

—–We all have bad moments but projecting our issues onto others is a destroyer of relationships

~~~~

©Heather Pound 2022

I want to soak up light and colour,

feel the late afternoon wind caress,

inhale the salt of sea

Cease losing more moments

of my life to ‘numb’, or

‘making it through the day’

These quietly subtle thieves of time

are wretched scoundrels in disguise

~~~~

I want to embody joy, occupy tranquillity

provide aroha, be present in the now, embrace,

Take the time and space as needed

to examine heart and mind—often,

to unravel to that place

of primal connection to spirit

and what it means to be alive,

to fan the spark that lives within

to fully be alive–and connected–again

~~~~

—when we have been operating on auto-pilot and are missing precious moments of life

©Heather Pound 2022

(Aroha is the Maori word for ‘love, ‘but it speaks to empathy, community, and quite literally breathing life into someone else. This word fully deserves many poems of its own, but just so the non-Kiwis understand it here.)

Darkness gathers thick and threatening

hands gleefully rubbing, ready,

but the flame flickers in the darkness

bouncing shadows off the wall

and darkness shrinks back, startled

~~~~

It only takes one small flame to do this,

because light is stronger and darkness

will always recede when light

is in the room. Remember this

when hope is dim and joy has fled

~~~~

The dark, while dense and imposing,

muscles flexing and intentions clear,

cannot withstand the light of even

the least of flames and magnifies

the presence of light simply by existing

~~~~

So, allow the dark to enhance the light

and focus on the flame. Protect

it, embrace it and the darkness will

flee every-single-time

~~~~

©Heather Pound 2022

Wind lashes, sand stings, the spray

of the sea arrives unexpected

and booms against the rocks

I lean into the power in the howling blast

I watch the crashing waves

and they speak to my heart

of things that are greater than I

and in one whom I can trust

to keep those that I love secure

–even amidst the tempest

~~~~

©Heather Pound 2022

As I sat in the room with my most loved ones 
and played the game of “remember when,” I realized,
that the most treasured things in life aren’t the perfect, neither in the living–or the retelling
but the memories, the most precious parts of the story of us are the things,

that didn’t go as planned

Like how the youngest was sick when we travelled through Bangkok–every. single. time.

And how we walked with tired limbs for hours before we found transport after the New Year’s firework display off the Burj Khalifa that only lasted five minutes

We almost lost each other in a different New Year’s Eve crush, clinging desperately to each other’s hands on Park Street, Calcutta. Somewhat horrific, but laughing in the end  

And then there’s the crazy old man that screamed at us to get back from the edge of the Grand Canyon even though there was no way we could have fallen

Or remember the too-hot-to-sleep nights in Fiji when the neighbours would all sing, harmonies floating in balmy air

And remember when Dad thought that there was a gas station ahead but there wasn’t, yet we made it on fumes towards the ancient glacier along the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand. 

So many other stories of adventure survived around the world—together.
Incredible shared beauty that marks and feeds our corporate soul

It’s not the themed amusement parks of fleeting pleasure,
but the stories of adversity that are leisurely spoken of in our remembrance.
These are the things that bind us together, the foundation of our familial bond

Priceless narratives that remind us we have really lived—and often thrived
The cracks in our lives that are ‘just ours’, they make us strong
Shared adversity seals our hearts in priceless ways,
in a bond that no one else can quite appreciate

So the next time things don’t go quite as planned, instead of stress, embrace
Gather all of the ‘not quite’ fiercely in, hold it close to your chest,

let it grow rich in memory, and smile,

because it’s all the golden cracks that bond us together
that embody the most beautiful whole.

©Heather Pound 2022

On our second night in the new-to-us

campervan we slept by the water,

sunset spectacular and fully at peace

But during the night the wind began to

howl, the van began to shake and

in my nest over the cab I wondered

how much we could endure

~~~~

I ‘knew’ that it was fine. Four tons or

more of steel will not easily fall,

but this I had not experienced before,

so I did not fully ‘know’

~~~

In the morning I considered how many

times I have been completely safe in the

middle of some form of storm, but because

it was unknown worried and fretted

and lost precious sleep

~~~~

–I endeavour to do less of this

©Heather Pound 2022

Today, the story is raw

Words come out in jumbles

and full of sharp edges

uncomfortable in your mouth

I can only imagine how

your heart must feel

in the telling

~~~~

You are someone brave

~~~~

You have discovered

that the longer that the narrative

is tucked away inside

the more power that it holds

and what you must do is

simply start the flow

and that is not an unimaginable

thing when you find a place

that is safe

~~~~

–listening is an often unexplored super power

~~~

©Heather Pound 2022

image by Canva

I have always known that ‘His yoke is easy, His burden light’

but I used to think of him as the pilot, and myself the calf

Him a kind master, lovingly tending my needs and wounds

directing my steps, choosing what is best

while my neck carried the harness

~~~~

It’s important to remember though, that a yoke can have more space

Not one, but places for two necks and two shoulders to bear

binding two creatures together in helpful companionship

moving in the same direction, following the same commands

bearing the burden, doing the work, feeling the chafe

–together

~~~~

This God that I follow is of the sort that doesn’t leave me to

walk the path alone. He is not remote, out of reach, or jostling from behind

No, He dips his neck, accepts the yoke

and walks beside——

sharing my burden, experiencing my path

feeling the dust and the sun and the thirst

He willingly supports and offers His strength for both

the pleasant and the pain.

The yoke is easy and the burden is light

because HE is carrying the heaviest part of the load

~~~~

—when you think you’re alone and God doesn’t care

~~~~

©Heather Pound 2022