~~~~
©Heather Pound 2022
I wonder what it will take
to rewrite the story that
you hear inside your mind?
~~~
As you speak
you hear ‘victim’
I hear ‘survivor’
you see failure
I see endurance
you smell fear
I catch the scent
of courage
You touch the tears
on your face with shame
–and apologize
I understand how your
heart needs release and
how weeping is a sign of
someone brave enough
to recall and speak of painful things
~~~~
Words create stories and my hope
is that by re-weaving consonants
and vowels you may rewrite yours in
your own unique way and in your
personal time into something similar
to what others can already see
~~~~
©Heather Pound 2022
There is a space where the disquiet sits
random thoughts about pandemic,
poverty and war with a few worries
of my own carelessly sprinkled in
like pepper and salt
~~~~
The ingredients simmer away whether
I am there to stir the pot or not,
and while a watched pot may not never boil
an unwatched one most certainly will
~~~~
It will overflow and splatter and burn
making quite a mess in the end with a mayhem
that could have been avoided if we had only
tended to the uncomfortable, stayed with the
disquiet and tasted of the ways that even
uneasiness can nourish our character, season
our passions and invite us to live our lives
~~~~
–We have corporately had enough and yet the world keeps on spinning and producing more angst for us to digest. But if we tend to all the parts of ourselves, we can then remember that there is still beauty and light to be found, and these are the things that we are hungry for.
©Heather Pound 2022
Love first blooms fresh and sparkling with dew,
but fragile like a tiny shoot that must be
tended and nourished with care
But over time, oh, the places that love can grow!
~~~~
Roots deep in the soul, souls intertwined,
bonded together by memories, experiences
and adventures shared. Home. When you can
say, “Remember when?” and talk for hours,
or sit in content and not speak at all,
when you can catch one glance and comprehend
the depth and breadth of meaning therein
When you have chosen daily for years
this person, this relationship, this life,
then you will know more of what love is,
what it can be and what it is not
~~~~
Love is a holy work, and work it is,
but a treasure beyond price it becomes
when protected, when nourished, when cherished,
and consistently chosen over time,
worth every moment invested in the end
~~~~
—-for the hopeless romantic as well as those who may have given up on love
©Heather Pound 2022
You can do your utmost to persuade me
of all the world’s ills, but this, my friend,
you need not do. For I have seen
with my own two eyes–depravity,
malice and greed. I have heard
with my own two ears–the cries of beatings
and the keening wails of grief, of bondage,
of hope defiled. I have held the hands
that death will visit soon and seen children
as shadows begging for bread granted
apathy in return. I have attentively
observed over time what human beings
are capable of and I lament
~~~~
—I am still
But then—
~~~~
The song awakens in my chest,
softly first, but louder grows
and no matter what I’ve seen and heard
or felt with my own frame,
music bursts forth from my soul once again
–alive–and from my lips an Ancient song
And with the hope of a thousand generations
past and of children yet to come, I cry,
~~~~
“There is light, there is light there is light!”
~~~~
And this, no darkness can steal
Call me a dreamer or call me a fool
—-this will always be my song
~~~~
—–Light overcomes darkness at the break of every dawn, constant. No amount of darkness can extinguish even one spark of a flame. This is hope. This is holy work, and gifted by Divine.
©Heather Pound 2022
Once I saw a lady laughing with friends and instinctively
whispered, “If I was like her, I would always be confident.”
Of this I was immediately certain
~~~~
With photos reviewed, I was, however, surprised. This
face would not launch a thousand ships, and her figure
was softer–like mine!
~~~~
And I pondered this awhile
~~~~
It was in the smile. For when eyes twinkled
and teeth said hello, a veil lifted and for that
moment you viewed the glorious garden inside,
full blossomed, fragrant, and free
~~~~
And this woman—she smiled
~~~~
She was a gardener who tended what mattered,
flowers blooming, vines encircling, accepting
both sunshine and rain, and then, bravely, often,
and when she chose, waiving the admission fee
~~~~
She was beautiful,
and I wonder still if she even knows?
~~~~
—–and these days I make sure I tell them, and remember that true beauty is born within
~~~~
©Heather Pound 2022
Please don’t run from your very own thoughts
While formative and compelling, they are not
in the seat of power–you are. They do
not characterize you, but if left unattended
they can influence your feelings and actions
unnoticed.
~~~~
Thoughts are just thoughts and your marvelous
brain can examine them, try them on for size,
and if they don’t fit just right they can be
replaced by newer and more intentional ones
This process becomes more difficult, however,
the longer you leave them running free
~~~~
Today, if they are telling you lies,
such as worthless, wasted or weak;
rather than running, grab those thoughts
with both hands, hold them up to the light
to find their flaws, toss out the bad,
enhance the good, and just forget some of them
altogether. But whatever, remember
that you are in the driver’s seat,
and you are in command
~~~~
©Heather Pound 2022
If it wasn’t for you I would not have taken
the time and effort to sift through my
thoughts and beliefs, examining them well
and intentionally putting aside the ones
not measuring up to the light of truth,
and I would not have lived years of my life
both healing and free. I could have
endlessly lived one step ahead of myself,
worried, instead of present in the now,
and I would not have practiced the balance
that brings me intentionality and creativity
and peace
~~~~
And while everyone’s stories are entirely
their own, I would not be able to understand
what it is like to live with you and what it takes
to manage and get rid of you, and be able
to walk beside others now doing the same
So, surprisingly while you have been
most unwelcome and utterly cruel,
I thank you for the ways that you have
made my life both fuller and free, and how,
in the end, you have enriched and produced
depth and have opened the door to lasting
joy
~~~~
—An open letter to anxiety and depression. I am surprised to find, with perspective, that you may actually be one of my longest and truest friends.
~~~~
©Heather Pound 2022
Heather Pound 