Winter Night

by Cheryl Merrick

Moon- full disk of glowing light
high in the winter sky

Trees- dark silhouettes
trailing shadows behind them

Stars- distant points of light
punctuating the velvet expanse

As winter's intense stillness

enfolds the night in beauty

Thoughts on a full moon in December

New Sight

by Cheryl Merrick

Eye surgery complete
and eye patch securely in place,
I went to bed.
A new world greeted me
when the patch was removed 
in the the morning.
A world where images
  focused clear and true
 into the distance.

Desert Adjustment

by Cheryl Merrick

Seeing miles and miles of desert landscape
stretching out desolately before me,
I cringed.

Could I be happy here?
With a heart longing for 
refreshing green canyons,
cool rushing water,
and towering trees arching overhead,
I began my new life in the desert.

Now a year later,
my eyes are soothed 
by the many greens of the desert shrubs,
and my heart gladdened by the exquisite beauty
of even the tiniest desert flower.

Home A Refuge

by Cheryl Merrick

Home
A Refuge
of Love 
and Beauty

Emerging

by Cheryl Merrick

Like a butterfly emerging
from its dowdy chrysalis
our home is emerging,
Though essentially the same
it now has a new form
Comfortable and safe
Simple and beautiful

Stillness

by Cheryl Merrick

Focusing on the beauty around me
my racing heart 
stills,
and my anxious mind 
calms.

Gazing upward
into the canopy of branches,
peace fills my soul.