Day Dance

By Cheryl Merrick

Filled with awareness,
my day dance begins

Stillness and Motion

Inside and Outside

Thinking and Doing

Self and Others

Creating and Maintaining

Active and Reflective

Being and Connecting

Feeling and Sensing

Dreams and Projects

Hopes and Goals

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.

No Reflection

by Cheryl Merrick

I make a comment
and the room suddenly quiets.
After an awkward moment,
all resumes as before.

I mention I write,

again the embarrassed silence,

followed by a change of subject.

Could I really think so differently

that others have no idea 

how to respond to me?

Sharing my talent,

I watch as others shrink away,

uncomfortable by the unfamiliar,

so that I see no reflection of me

in their eyes.

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. 

Time to Be Myself

by Cheryl Merrick

Over and over again,
I push myself
to meet the needs
of those around me.

Each day, the struggle
to be what I'm not
weighs on me,
til tired and grouchy,
I finally collapse 
into an exhausted heap.

The love and support
I've bestowed on family and friends
becomes just a memory
as I withdraw into myself to recharge
before my light extinguishes,

and it is only after days of healing,

that I am able to reach out again.

Soar Through the Day

by Cheryl Merrick

Listening to the light,

feelings of serenity 

enfold me as 

I soar through the day.

Turning on My Light

by Cheryl Merrick

Long have I existed,

conforming to the pull

for momentary harmony,

mirroring back to others

what they wanted to see.

Dejected, I sulked

in this semi-darkness

longing for understanding

and for the approval 

to share my light.

Finally, recognizing that

darkness can not 

comprehend the light,

I resolve to be 

who I am and bravely

turn on My Light.

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.