Author Archives: sherryvycitalyork

Awakened to a dim lit roomCovered warm in blankets heapedSecure and snug in my cocoonMy mind is free while body sleeps I begin to think of how I’m shaped Curled and curved, all tucked withinAnd ducks and geese and squirrels and snakesThe shapes they are when they beginBefore their birth all living thingsSeem to beContinue reading “Unfurled”

Hands on the wheel, sunglasses in place, she was ready to venture out into a sun-shiny day, a glaring contrast to the months of overcast skies, inversion fog, rain, lingering pandemic gloom. Some days even the sun was too bright, so used had the world become to the pall of gray that lay over it,Continue reading “Unzipping Gratitude”

While trying to tame unruly hair this morning I reflected on my hairdresser’s comment about the cowlicks I have here and there. Hmmm…maybe I was born in a barn. Barns conjure up thoughts of nurture, shelter, warmth, food, pungent refuse, true reality, and that life takes tending. They are strong structures that last for generations,Continue reading “Cowlicks”

It was a rite of passage back in the day. To go on a snipe hunt was beyond exciting. “Really? Really? Are we finally going snipe hunting this time?” We all knew it was a super secret event, a time of great revelation especially if one actually caught a snipe. Our grade school hearts fairlyContinue reading “Snipe Hunting”

If life is a box of chocolates What should I do with itGive mine away to othersShare some of the sweetened bitsSet it on the shelf for laterNibbling a little piece at a timeOr in some frenzied orgy Squander it all as mine Or shall I become an appraiserStudying each tiny piece Determining if eachContinue reading “The Box of Chocolates”

Do one’s assumptions that things will be hard Throw up barriers or prison bars Restrict them and others from their escape From the negativity that overtakes Their minds and hearts Does it claim the personal landscapeCluttering, marring relationships made Confining one’s ways to those that won’t grow Withhold from them the freedom to know TheContinue reading “Assumptions”

Peace through the trialsThough burdens are mournedWorries become less The heaviness borneCares of the world Suffering there Loved ones are hurtingLife’s hard to bearSharing with othersThoughts from the heartUplift our spiritsGive hope a fresh startReminds us to drink From that well that flows freeThe Water of LifeFrom Heavenly streamsMost of the above words were writtenContinue reading “A Burden Shared”

Not a tome about practicing yoga outside on a stormy day, this musing is about those soft baked pretzels, dough that’s formed and shaped, that still is pliable though firm. More flexible than its hard cast cousins that break with a snap, this pretzel has been given an ability to bend and endure pressure putContinue reading “A Pretzel In The Wind”

Someone very dear to me recently updated her Facebook profile picture, baring her left shoulder to reveal her Medusa tattoo. So far her tattoos have been reminiscent of home: the lilac tree, deer, quail. Lovely works of art representative of important parts of her life. Representing not only treasured things, but also her choice ofContinue reading “The Medusa Tattoo”

To whom, child, are you offering?To self-glory, or to Me?Acclaim? The world’s acceptance? What gods do you really seek?Yes, excellence may be a goal As you work, create, and strive Yet, who is that truly, deeply for? For Me? Or for your pride? The world demands you to conformRise above the churning fray I’ve conqueredContinue reading “The Offering”

“Oh, how exquisite!” she exclaimed, while gazing out her window. The old woman’s yearning was rewarded with a delightful surprise, a very small red bird perched on her porch railing, looking this way and that. “I wonder what he is thinking?” she thought to herself. “He is so tiny, so different from the other birdsContinue reading “A Curious Bird”

Holidays passed, the New Year firmly entrenched, a lapse in time seems to hang in the air. Emotions have run high for so long… is this what it feels like when the swells of rising tide recede back into the deep, away from the rocky, sandy shores that have been beaten and lapped and carvedContinue reading “Before Sailing On”

It was a little thing. Just business cards. A handy way to share information about my blog. But for some reason the image on the front looked off-center, the font on the back so small I could barely read it. According to company policy I could call if not completely satisfied, so I did. IContinue reading “Unexpected Grace”

It is a wonder to me that each of us are adopted sons and daughters into the Body of Christ, grafted in, if you will. Wild unruly things, some thorny and rigid, others more easily flexible and supple, grafted into the Vine of Christ, He the Vine, we the branches, grafted amongst those naturally growingContinue reading “Accepting Graft-hood”

Considering those years long ago when grade-school relationships were hard and capricious, I wonder at the differing abilities we each employ to cope with hurtful ways people treat us, and one another. Some laugh off the taunts of others, ignore them, or serve back a bucket full of the same. Others become insecure, even depressive,Continue reading “The Win of Forgiveness”

You’d think a scar would fully meanThe wound has finally healed Then years go by and suddenly A festering’s revealed Mind and heart scroll upon Themselves a memory deep “Pain-body” is a term I’ve heard For wounds, once sound asleep Then anything remotely close To the cause of that old pain Renews the memories ofContinue reading “Beneath the Scars”

Battered, bruised, wrapped around Poles, like lanyards where I’m foundExtended beyond my earthly reachTo realms of questions, concerns too deepFor my shallow mindYet while I whip and freely waveOn stormy winds, or balmy days,I find myself securely heldBy ties that bind, cannot be felled,Contain my fragile mindWhat keeps me fast to life secure?That floats meContinue reading “Tether Sure”

The doorbell rang, I looked outside There stood a tiny childBundled warm from top to toe She stood in winter mild Curious I ope’ed the doorWondering what she’d brought With luminous eyes she looked at meAnd our gazes locked In moments brief she calmly spokeWithout an uttered word She read my soul of weighty griefContinue reading “The Tiny Tree”

As I ponder the New Year, and think of the past, evidences of disdain continue to pop up in my world, like an unexpected booming firework, its sound and lights startling. Webster defines disdain as: a feeling of contempt for someone or something regarded as unworthy or inferior : SCORN. As a verb it means:Continue reading “Fighting Disdain”

The timer started, wrestlers tense staring into each other’s eyes, mocking, watching, anticipating the first move. The high school gym was hot, fans, referees, athletes all dripping in the late afternoon heat. It was the final match, everyone was ready for the long day to be over, yet this was the finale, the peak ofContinue reading “World Class Wrestling”

Some days I wonder about purpose, how important my life really is in the big scheme of things. Sure, I birthed two children, step-mothered two more, and am loving them all, plus seven grands. Over forty-three years I have loved and stayed faithful to one husband, worked and served in nursing, have ridden the rockyContinue reading ““Can Ya Hear Me Now?””

When I was very young the goal of becoming perfect seemed the highest ideal I could imagine. From where that thought germinated I have no idea. It is only in the last several years I have more pointedly pondered the meaning of that desire, perhaps endeavoring to solve a mystery in me. In reading God’sContinue reading “A Circle Of Rainbows”

It’s snowing! It’s snowing!White flakes floating downCrystalline stars of iceBearing from above Pristine gifts from Heaven A welcomed sight amidst Bright or dreary days Reminders that far beyond Is One who emanates Exquisite unending Love

The sun shown brightly on a light glazing of snow that gave hope for a white Christmas. My brother popped by, early morning elf delivering family gifts, and as we visited asked, “Have you read your email?” While I searched the cousins’ thread of news, he quietly announced, “Ron died last week.” It took someContinue reading “Tsunami Christmas Eve 2021”

All the gifts were wrapped for Christmas, but this one box of sparkly white wooden snowflake ornaments. The exquisite snowflakes, most likely laser cut, were intricate, nine different designs, two of each. Somehow they had captured me one day as I shopped for a birthday gift. Who needs more ornaments? Were we even putting upContinue reading “Eighteen Ornaments”