Friday, October 31, 2014

October-set




 When she saw tomorrow's forecast Victoria squealed and did a happy dance; November plus snow can mean only one thing...the beginning of Christmas music in the Martin-house;)


October frets from eaves cold, gray
It sets in leaves of golden fray
To slumber where we used to lie
Beneath blue blankets of the sky
Before earth’s tent was dull and torn
And lowered to a land forlorn

October slips into the hush
Of stricken wood and underbrush
Pungent its tattered chatter lies
Cradled in summer’s lullabies
As silence strums night’s frostiness
And numbs our noses with its kiss

October sets in gold and red
Lavishing trails where dreamers tread
A sodden, trodden aftermath
On nature’s endless garden path
Where we hear in Time’s undertow
The dance of feet waiting for snow

© Janet Martin

Death...In Memory of Troy



Death gives no reason when it comes
And often without warning
It chooses one still far too young
To turn our hearts to mourning

Death does not regard prominence
As its appointment severs
Mortal ties of family, friends
And changes lives forever

Death, who can tell how near or far
Our own appointment hovers?
Pray we choose then to live each day
As though life soon is over

© Janet Martin

I did not know Troy personally but...
...suddenly he is every parent’s son as every parent mourns. A horrific crash on the week-end involving three local youth claims the life of one.


So Alike, Yet oh So Different



Approx. 40 years later...


As we sit here recalling years that long have come and gone
And as we reminisce of childhood’s happy hours spent
Where kindred memories abound, some shared, some saved by one
I smile; because we’re so alike yet oh, so different

One remembers something that sparks someone else’s thought
And suddenly we are transported back; laughter is bent
Around the kitchen sink perhaps where life was learned and taught
While we grew up so much alike yet oh, so different

For a brief morning we relinquish bonds of mother-toll
As we become the little girls around our mother’s knee
And mother smiles as if she too returns to years time stole
Of having everyone at home the way it used to be

For things we cannot change, for afternoons lost and replaced
We tend time’s tender echoes with a reverent lament
As we exchange fond pictures framed where footsteps are retraced
In memories so much alike yet oh, so different

© Janet Martin

We were together on the old home farm yesterday to celebrate my mom’s birthday with our annual tea-party.Everyone brings food to enjoy with fellowship:)



It’s sweet and strange, the things the mind retains and so interesting to hear what one sister remembers that others have long forgotten! 

At this sink many an hour was spent chattering, arguing, being extremely silly, singing four-part harmony, watching the world from this window while doing dishes. A family with 10 kids always makes lots of laundry, lots of dishes and lots of precious memories.
My brother and his family live here on the home farm.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Mr. Twilight





For as long as I can remember
He climbs the beaming hill
And fills his pockets with the gold
That daylight hours spill
It seems I almost hear him
Strumming limbs and such
Humming as the shadows fall
Blue beneath his touch

I should like to join him
To stroll along the ridge
Where suddenly the afternoon
Is like a walking bridge
The landscape like a river
Where all its swarthy ships
Are harbored on earth’s dewy seas
Beneath his fingertips

He does not see me watching
I guess he never will
He always faces to the east
I live on the south hill
But often as he passes
I wipe a winsome tear
And blow a kiss for what yet is
But soon will disappear

© Janet Martin

Beneath the Rush of Dawn Unstoppered





We, at the faultless mercy
Of He who ordains air
With colors of new morning
Have a high call to bear

Whether of prince or pauper
Young, old or in between
The rush of dawn un-stoppered
Pours out virgin Unseen

Then, as we drain its golden
deluge of touch-taste test
We each are called, beholden
To give to God our best

© Janet Martin

Jim called from near Sudbury and we were comparing sunrises. They both sounded pretty good and not at all alike!!!

our call...

 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons[a] of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matt.5:2-12