Author Archives: sherryvycitalyork

“Somewhere in all that mess must be story,” I thought, carefully pulling the brush through our grandson’s wet hair. It was classic, like perfectly teased under-layers of the bouffants of old: hidden, tangled, and a bear to straighten again. How had his hair arranged itself so magnificently? No surprise – no brushing results in theContinue reading “The Rat’s Nest”

Do you hear me now? Are you listening? Listening to me? Or listening to the thoughts that tumble through your mind as words I say birth rising pictures for you to see, think on, to form response to, and answer while my story has continued on? Oh! I want to be heard! Not just theContinue reading “Do You Hear Me Now?”

A lump rose up upon my wristOvernight it’s stealth unseenSurprising me on yester morn Look! A bump where none had been A “ganglion cyst” I labeled it For one had been there years agoYet this more grand than the one before This one spanning wrist to hand Hey, look at me! it seemed to sayAttentionContinue reading “Ode To Lumps, Bumps, and Carbuncles”

While dressing this morning my mind revisited that scene of many years ago when I first wondered why my eyebrows seemed near lacking. The answer I remember most was, “Perhaps God forgot them when He made you.” What? At the time it seemed a reasonable answer to my young mind, but as I have maturedContinue reading “The Truth About Brows”

A tiny seed when planted In ground or womb or mind Sends tendrils forth dividing New shapes unique unfolding Creation’s grand design As new things dawn their growing From good or evil start They reveal their beginnings Those things of which they’re partInfluences bearing inWhen birthed they are presented Bless or curse a fallen worldContinue reading “Creating”

I lay crumpled, my mind swirling with chaos, migraine pressure pounding, the overwhelming stress inside of me nearly erupting, my own private Vesuvius ready to destroy. Empty . . . emptiness seemed a siren’s call of relief. Would I last long enough til then, til it was gone and I could walk away from allContinue reading “Asking God In”

Crooked hands, gnarled fingersLook much like burled trees The stress of storms or insects Other forms of injury Causing calluses to grow there Protecting tree beneathThe lumpy areas hardened Through sufferings etched deep And yet these lumps when opened Reveal beauty therein hidThe hardened shell protective Of swirled patterns laying in Witness of adjustmentsGrowing o’reContinue reading “Crooked Hands”

Life turned vibrant on that dayWhen Jesus lifted me He took my sins, threw them awayFilled up my all, set free He lifted me from sunken woesThat filled my life with shame He gave new sight to blinded eyesNew songs for me to sing The air itself became a glow The breath of life soContinue reading “Vibrant Life”

For days a storm cloud had been creeping into my mind. From where and why I was unsure, but with the effects of barometric pressure-like changes in my behavior, I finally had to pay attention. What was going on with me anyway? Why the glum? Something was disrupting my peace. It was not pretty, thisContinue reading “Who Is On The Throne?”

It matters not under what tree you have perchedOverhead is the same blue skyThough tree leaves or branches or heights aren’t the same They still reach for the same blue skyAnd even when storm clouds arrive on the sceneBlotting away the rays of the sun Still above and certainly far past the clouds The blueContinue reading “The Same Blue Sky”

How do I pray aright, O LORDFor wounds that run so dark and deep That long have festered tendrils grown From childhood yet the scars still weep Another’s pain I lift to You The pain of family also tornOf those who do not want Your help Oh, God, please help them in Your loveCradled inContinue reading “A Prayer”

Like pustules formed on a porcelain face Or fissures venting steamy airAnger stirred, compressed o’re time Demands its voice is finally heardIt matters not the cause thereof What’s left behind is all the same Scars that mar the beautiful scene Hate spewed out, destruction reigns As cancer growing deep withinA leperous creeping through our midstContinue reading “The Strife of 2020”

“Nana!” the grands yelled, arms akimbo, all three children hugging and jabbering at the same time. Excitement filled the air, as it usually does when they come to visit. Frequently I am asked to repair a beloved stuffed animal, or a torn item. Today was no different as wounded precious things were thrust into myContinue reading “The Whale With The Bite-Sized Hole”

Oh, what a happy day! Some of the grands were coming over, last seen two weeks ago before their out-of-town friends had come to visit. Hurrying to get ready, Nana hoped she would hear the doorbell ring. Blissfully waiting, she started writing imaginations of the day, “what-if’s” begging to be penned. Pancakes. She would cookContinue reading “Ice Cream Soup”

“Oh my goodness! How beautiful!” The miniature cactus, wearing three bright red flower topknots, it’s many prickly spires standing proudly at my place at the table, seemed to flame a greeting as I swept into the room, hurrying to leave for a dental appointment. Dear husband had been to the market this morning, surprising meContinue reading “The Cactus”

Was evil lurking strongly there When she inquired for a job The craft store seemed a happy placeTo work among the bits and bobsInterviewed, then brought on backInto the room just past the screen For picture taking, employee needs With ease she sat down gingerly His talk was smooth, it made some senseBut then hisContinue reading “Humiliation”

Broken pieces shattered laid Imploded each upon themselves Scattered, fractured all about‘Til collected there by Love“What will I be?” thought the pot Exposed rawness yawning wide For all to see its helplessness All pretenses gone to hide By struggles shards could not reformTogether as they rightly should Resigned at last the pot gave up WaitingContinue reading “Remade New”

“And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.” Genesis 1:2b, 3 (NKJV) Ever wonder why some of us moms, or dads, have a tendency to be overprotective? Helicopter-ish? Just plain hover-y? For years our children blatantly told me IContinue reading “Hovering”

Worry like an unseen wraith Attempts to enter in my mind Begin its whirling round and roundTo sink it’s tendrils deeper down Into my very beingIt tries to enter through my eyes When I look at fearsome things Through whispers, shouts into my ears From voices all around me heardSo many filled with it ItContinue reading “Worry’s Futility”

The road seemed to go on forever. Sojourner laid his pack and hat aside as he sank down on weary knees, then rested back against the tree trunk in the blessed shade. The day was a scorcher. He was hot, tired, and in woeful need of a drink. He would rest just a minute, thenContinue reading “We’ve Only Just Begun”

“We don’t talk anymore, Nana,” our near eleven year old granddaughter lamented. Her comment took me aback as I contemplated her words, for surely I never want to stop having conversations with this dear girl. Yet she was correct. Throughout the COVID -19 quarantine, and their house remodeling, it seemed catching up with family newsContinue reading “A Sweet Conversation”

It’s interesting to watch dreams I’ve dreamed play out in other’s lives. The beauty and the longing there seen fulfilled in their eyes. And I wonder to myself why did those dreams come to me? Was it so I could appreciate with others their joy to celebrate? It’s happened now several times. At every instanceContinue reading “Shared Dreams”

Suffering, a conundrum Elevates the soul,One’s body tornBurned, filled with painTwisted, misshapenBeauty lost Freedom to liveA glorious visionFound encumberedWhat prize wrungThrough deep despairOr torture thereAs one through fire Is molded, poured,Carefully wrought for more?Worked, shaped, beaten, processedEmbellished, stirred,To be made pureAre we like pig iron That is puddled, rolled, forgedImpurities within?Made into something beautifulOf useContinue reading “Suffering”

Injection day ‘twas once againSix weeks gone by since the past Macular degeneration treatment givenTo keep my vision clear long last Floaters oft come home with me Dark purple, burgundy or blueColor hard to tell so deep That dance around close in my viewSitting tall and still l lookHead held down to better see FloatersContinue reading “The Sea Within My Eye”

To friends and family far and near And all others, you I cheer Deep gratitude for then and now Brave sacrifice that you allowUpholding for my freedom Forgetting not what lies behindNew purposes in which we find Ourselves caught up to play a part I thank you for your gracious heartYou give to me inContinue reading “July 4 Thanksgiving”