God and I - Stirring Lightness In

By Cheryl Lynne Hayden

There is beauty and signifi cance in even the smallest and
simplest of things. Every thought we have, every action
we take affects someone or something else and so on. To
infi nity. The struggles and splendor, the diffi cult and the Divine, the dark and the light are inextricably intertwined. They are not moving alongside each other the parallel tracks of a train, but are stirred together: by God's hand - and our own.
What really matters is how we treat people. All humans are created equal and every living thing should have the right to strive toward its fullest potential. Each time a barrier to a goal is removed, a relationship restored, a negative thought born into a positive one, help given to someone in need, there is a shift in the light. There is good in everyone.
And always, there is something to be grateful for, even in the most trying of times. The opportunity to be thankful can make our burdens seem lighter. The cream into your coffee. First rays of sunrise streaming into your darkest night. What we do, as we move forward in our learning in this place, is to ever strive to be more a part of the light.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 8, 2011
• ISBN: 9781462888559

Book preview

God and I

Stirring Lightness In

Cheryl Lynne Hayden

Copyright © 2011 by Cheryl Lynne Hayden.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2011909872

ISBN:         Hardcover                               978-1-4628-8853-5

                   Softcover                                 978-1-4628-8854-2

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4628-8855-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

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92585

Contents

1.   People

2.   Nature

3.   Children

4.   Suffering

5.   Family

6.   God and Religion

7.   Writing

Forward

By Edward Micus

The title of Cheryl Hayden’s first book of poems, God and I—Stirring Lightness In fits precisely what Cheryl brings to these crafted poems—a positive outlook toward the world and the human race; an acceptance of suffering and loss. And she tries, in her litany of rhymes, to make the world right.

The book is arranged into seven sections, many dealing with family, and ending with her final chapter, Writing, where she demonstrates the love she has for the world of words.

Many of her poems focus upon simple, but not unmeaningful events. In Nature, Cheryl talks of stepping on a spider and surprises us with her Haikuish ending: Sun’s gold rays shifted slightly/I saw her last web shining.

Her poem Merlot pays a simple tribute to ripened grapes swirl in glass, and she pleases us with these lines about the moon: Hung by invisible thread/My half of Earth goes to bed.

Other poems move from the death of a beloved cat to a carnival ride to a field of gray. From spilled milk to an episiotomy.

Here are the thoughts of a condemned man on Death Row: he swings/Lulled by dim light/And the flight of a lady bug/Off his plaid shirt.

These lines reflect a few of the best of Cheryl Hayden’s collection— filled with her love for language as well as her sympathy with nature and her concern for the human condition.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to my husband, Joe, who took the time to pull together a dream and for the mental and emotional energy that flowed into me, because you did.

Thanks for all the times you read something I wrote and said more than just it’s good.

Thank you, my girls, for doing your own homework some nights and getting yourselves a bowl of cereal or a PB & J for dinner other times because the words were really flowing and I didn’t want to stand up from my work.

Thank you to my parents, Carole and Milt, for trying to understand and appreciate my words, even though, Mom, as you say, you’d prefer something rhymie like there’s a snake in the lake. Thank you Mom for saving my little pieces of writing,