If it were possible
To sleep standing up
To taste the many flavors of water
To tell each part of the day by its scent
To wear nothing but our own skins
To walk always barefoot in the grass
To watch the nightly migration of stars
To smell the stories brought by the wind
To be surrounded by family
To hear the symphony of their heartbeats
To trumpet to the skies and rumble to the ground
Could you then live the life you were given?
Cheryl Merrill’s essays have been published in Fourth Genre, Pilgrimage, Brevity, Seems, South Loop Review, Ghoti, Alaska Quarterly Review, Adventum and Isotope. “Singing Like Yma Sumac” was selected for the Best of Brevity 2005 and Creative Nonfiction #27. It was also included in the anthology Short Takes: Model Essays for Composition, 10th Edition. Another essay, “Trunk,” was chosen for Special Mention in Pushcart 2008.
She is currently working on a book about elephants: Larger than Life: Living in the Shadows of Elephants.
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ABOUT ELEPHANTS 
Truly lovely!
Thank you.
Oh Cheryl, this is one of your best and my absolute favorite to date. So long to be back with these magnificent creatures. A sincere thank you to you.
I really appreciate your kind words. Elephants kinda get under your skin, don’t they?
Wow, this is beautiful, Cheryl. Thank you ~♥~
Thanks, my friend. This might be at the end of the book, I’m not sure yet.
In my very humble opinion, it would be a very beautiful and fitting ending — leaving one in quiet introspection which can be extremely valuable. Hugs
Thanks again, Gill! I guess I’ll wait until everything’s finished and then have a few of my manuscript readers weigh in. I trust your instincts!
Oh how I love these words. Thank You.
Thank You, Motria.
Elephants have so much to teach us. When one is in the presence of wild elephants , there is an invitation to return to deep knowing, purity of heart and wisdoms beyond words. When I find myself cluttered by the mundane stresses of life , I remember the elephants…
Those are the exact words I try to write by. Where and when have you been with elephants?
I have been in the presence of elephants in the South Luangwa valley in Zambia 2011 and 2013. And you?
I was in S. Luangwa in 2012, as well as the Moremi Game Reserve in Botswana. Since 1996, I’ve observed elephants in S. Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Kenya & Tanzania as well. I’ve been very lucky to spend a lot of time with them. I hope to go back to Botswana next year or the year after. Do you have plans to return?