Storing Sunshine

by Cheryl Merrick

Feeling the soft warm breeze
on my face,
My eyes absorb the sunlight sparkling
in the clear early autumn sky.

I savor these moments
storing the sunshine
in memory jars
to be taken out later
to warm the cold winter days.

Indian Summer

  by Cheryl Merrick

Short sleeved days and flannel nights,
Light glowing through leaves yellow and red,
Nuts softly thudding to the ground,
Mountains rusting,
Lingering days of warmth,
Crisp and bold,
Indian Summer

Fall is Coming

by Cheryl Merrick


Cool sweater mornings
Squash yellowing beneath wilting vines
Birds feasting on orange berries
Leaves tinging red
Rainy afternoons whispering
Fall is coming

Fall Blows In

by Cheryl Merrick

A cool, crisp wind
blows across brown fields
ruffling the thick winter coats
of cattle and horses,
and causing showers of bright yellow leaves.

Autumn

by Cheryl Merrick

Bright yellow leaves
against a sharp blue sky,
Leaves crunching under feet,
Reds, yellows, and golds
glowing in a soft misty world,
Crisp days and frosty nights,
Smells of grapes and pumpkins,

Passing the Test

by Cheryl Merrick

Can you pass the test?
Can you respond with love 
when you are treated unjustly?
Can you still thank the Lord 
when what you have long hoped for is denied?
Can you feel God’s love even 
when He is allowing you to suffer and die?
Can you be an example of faith 
when all your hopes crumble away?

Trust

by Cheryl Merrick

Feeling that I am loved,
and knowing that He only
allows trials so I might grow
and return home
to live joyfully
for all eternity,
I put my trust in Him.

Sorrow

by Cheryl Merrick

The first disbelief and incomprehension,
     then the stunned shock
are washed away
     in a torrent of tears,
as reality settles heavily on the heart
     with a pain that wrenches the soul,
leaving an emptiness
    that will not be filled.

But we are not left without light,

Roads

by Cheryl Merrick

At the beginning,
when my health began to fail,
I turned young eyes toward
a bright future.
My eyes, now tired,
peer back down a long forty year road of illness.
If I could have chosen,
knowing well the road’s difficulties–
the pain, frustrations, and loneliness,
Would I still have chosen it?

Restriction or Opportunity?

by Cheryl Merrick
(dealing with my many restrictions due to having Addison's disease)

Yes, I must not do many things,
but are they things I really want to do?
Would I give up all the fresh flavors of fruits and vegies
for sugary, greasy, chemically laden foods?
Could I actually feel safe eating food that even bugs won’t eat?
Would I trade the soft, casual comfort of my cotton clothes
for the hot, scratchiness of synthetic fibers?
Don’t I enjoy the cleanliness and order of my simple home?