A New Year Begins

by Cheryl Merrick

Brashly announcing its entrance
 with horns and bells,
the New Year soon settles, 
gratefully, back into familiar routine. 

Fading are the sound of bells.
Dimming are the twinkling lights.
With the gifts given and 
the festive meals eaten,
the jovial bustle of the holiday season
quickly dissolves into 
an amiable quietness.

The Enigma

by Cheryl Merrick

Some step back from me
     fearfully keeping a "safe" distance
     from such a "mysterious" person.

Some find me amusingly eccentric,
     while others see my unconventional ways
     as aberrations which need correcting.