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.

Wasted

by Cheryl Merrick

Like a jeweler's file
used as a tooth pick,
or a piano leg
wielded as a hammer;

Like a race horse
pulling a plow,
or a book merely
adorning a shelf;

Gratitude Thanksgiving 2018

by Cheryl Merrick

My eyesight has returned
and with it the joy 
of reading and writing again.

There has been sweet moments 
spent with our little granddaughter 
answering all her "why" questions.

My Island

by Cheryl Merrick

Warily, I watch as the waves
of pressing duties
pound upon my shore.

Frustrated, I cry as the icy waters
of reality cover my small land; 

Til my lofty pillars of thought
lie submerged, unseen,
beneath the flood of responsibilities.

I watch 
as the current of details
swirls around them, and
the beauty of my sandcastle creations
dissolves back into sand.

The Enabler Revolts!

by Cheryl Merrick
I've had enough of "guilt trips"
  being used to control me. 

I'm tired of being told
  that if I don't meet everyone's needs,
  I'm a bad person.

I'm had enough of being told that 
  only evil, selfish people
  wouldn't want to live 
  just to make others "happy". 

Meeting Needs

by Cheryl Merrick
Yes, she is weak and incompetent,
but strength comes 
from facing hard things.

Yes, she is lonely,
but when you shut yourself
in your home,
refusing to reach out in love,
you cannot expect anything else.

Sacrifice

by Cheryl Merrick
Giving up something of lesser value
for something of greater value
is an expression of great wisdom
and ofttimes the offering 
of a loving heart.

Giving up something of greater value
for something of lesser value
is an exercise in stupidity 
which myopically reflects 
a self-absorbed life.

Is She More Loving?

by Cheryl Merrick
If she puts others' wants,
  before her needs?

If she constantly exhausts herself,
  because her family needs her?

If she neglects her health,
  because "there is simply too much to do"?

If she hovers over her children
  doing every little thing for them?

The Higher Road

by Cheryl Merrick
I stand at the fork in the road,
  as I have many times before.
Hesitating, 
  I gaze at my well trod path
  of sacrificing my life for others.
Once it seemed so noble.
Day after day I pushed myself,
  supposedly making others happy,
  till, reaching my end,
  I collapsed in bed,
  unable to move.