My Poetry Book Is Now Available!

I’m so happy I can share my work with you in a new way! My book of poetry, 59 Prayers, is now available in print. 59 Prayers is a collection of poems that blossomed from the union of my writing life and my spiritual life. It’s not a book of religion or sanctioned prayer, but an exploration of love, doubt, suffering, and joy.

As some of you may know, I’ve been on a long healing journey. During that time, when so much stillness and solitude were required, poetry became a lifeline. The writing process enabled me to transform negative energy and amplify positive energy. I chose to examine ordinary events through the slow lens of poetry. I created poems that made me feel better. And I have always hoped that the poems would make you feel better, too.

59 Prayers includes some poems that have appeared on this blog as well as other poems I’ve written from the same sea of experience. Some of the poems in 59 Prayers come from a place of struggle or questioning, others from a sense of communion or divine presence. Some of the poems offer blessing for special occasions or life events, such as marriage or interviewing for a job. Others seek to find meaning and beauty in an imperfect world. It’s my hope that you will find the book to be an experience of blessing and healing.

Thank you for following my blog and supporting my work. The world needs more love, and this is one way I’ve chosen to contribute.

Blessings,

Cheryl

 

59 Prayers is available for purchase on Amazon.

 

Election Day Prayer: God, Bless America

Dear God,
Wake in every citizen today the unquenchable desire to vote.
Keep every voter safe and free from obstruction or intimidation.
Illuminate our vision that we may see beyond our small thoughts.
Place in our hearts the integrity of non-harming word and deed.

Protect our country from acts of hatred.
Unite us as our new leader emerges.
Unite us in an expansive vision of what could be,
that we may move forward with integrity, compassion, and grace.
Unite us in our patriotism.

God, bless America.

Monday Morning Mary: I Cannot Believe in That God Any More

I Cannot Believe in That God Any More

that giant man with a biblical beard
looming in the sky
unhappy with my mistakes
sending me bad stuff.

The God I love
is a beach blanket
wild with orange and hot pink patterns
sheer enough for light and air
to drift through,
the kind of blanket
that catches in the sunny beach breeze,
flapping and bubbling,
the blanket I can’t wait to
smooth across the hot sand
and plunk my goofy bones down on
so that I can partake in the full menu
of blissful beach therapies:
sand, salt air, surf, sun, sleep.

On ordinary days, like today,
when God is not a beach blanket,
she picks up her knitting
and settles down next to me on the couch
so I can take a nap without worrying.
As I lose myself in the reverie
of the God/beach-blanket metaphor
and all its possibilities,
she loops her long hair behind her ear,
leans over, all pleased and all,
and kisses my forehead,
right on the third eye.
 

Surrender

My second installment for National Poetry Month…

Surrender

Some days there is no god.
Instead of wrestling with him,
and having to decide who won,
I just surrender.
Not to god, no.
It’s the whole idea of a god
I give up.
In the emptiness I breathe
freely, with relief
until I see at twilight a setting crescent moon
with the ghost of its full circle
luminescent on an indigo screen.
Then I find myself wondering
whom to thank.

 

Before a Big Decision

Prayer Before a Big Decision

In this stormy stretch of winter,
as I ruminate on a pending decision,
may I see this time as a summer day,

the first day of summer, actually,
where I am the grassy field
and my mind is the open sky,
the trees are my hair,
the rabbits my thoughts
the birds other, freer thoughts,
and the clouds, they are ideas and messages from God

May the sky of my mind welcome
whatever litany of color, whatever font or weight,
whatever edge, hard
or soft, She may send

and me being a clod of warm earth,
may I be ever patient with myself,
as I am only beginning to learn to read

Serendipity Prayer

 

Serendipity Prayer

God grant me
the pause to spot the unusual
the whimsy to pick it up
and the insight to hold it as the answer to my unasked question.