All That Really Matters

By Cheryl Merrick

Though I can no longer hike,
I have fun on my electric bike.

Though I can no longer sing or dance,

I am still enchanted by music.

Though my eyes tire quickly,

the words others read to me

nourish my soul.

Though I do not have the energy to travel,

I enjoy our home area and others' trips.

Though I exhaust quickly with household chores,

I delight in the time I have to create.

Though I stumble in this world of reality,

I soar in the realm of imagination.

Succumbing to the Expected

by Cheryl Merrick

Accepting both my doom and my duty,

I plodded through my day

doing what is expected of me.

Diligently trying to meet

others mundane needs and wants,

I unwisely accepted the judgement 

that while their gifts are useful

mine are merely frivolous.

This is how, conceding to the expected,

my sparkling creative light

was carefully hidden and nearly forgotten

under a smothering, dark basket.

I wrote this in December of 2019, but never posted it. Since then, I have continued to largely suppress my creative talents allowing endless details to consume my time and energies, so I posted this now to remind me to change my ways. 

Soar Through the Day

by Cheryl Merrick

Listening to the light,

feelings of serenity 

enfold me as 

I soar through the day.

Being Healed

By Cheryl Merrick

For years I pled
to immediately be healed.
When it didn't happen,
I resignedly accepted
my "learning experiences"
and wearily plodded through life.

Now, after nearly 50 years
of unhappily bemoaning
my burden of "poor health", 
I'm grateful that my requests
for the strength to perform
endless homemaking details
were not granted.