Wednesday, May 31, 2017

May Morning Medley

I had a little flower photo-shoot while waiting on the youngsters to arrive this morning...
Farewell, sweet, sweetest May



Leaf-lace on woodland’s viridian veil
Showcase for perfume of lilac-lined trail
Laughter from rafters of sapphire sweep
After the ire of winter-winds sleep

Romance of tulip and forget-me-not
Slow-dance of zephyr on hill and tree-top
Twitter and titter of fair, feathered throng
Dew-diamond glitter gilds dawn’s meadow-song

Garden-plots grin with the glint of first-fruit
Tiny tots traipse through its haven, bare-foot
Rain-streams and sunbeams ravish nature’s need
Daydreamers dally where bud-ballets bleed

Wealth wills bloom-wonder to beggar-like bards
Earth spills plumed plunder to gaunt limbs and yards
Gone is the groaning of ‘when will it be’
Spring spawns atonement for hope’s misery

Merchant and miser alike cannot claim
Garment of nature nor lock of Her mane
Silver sun-sparkles on shimmering seas
Shiver of poplar leaf-lay on the breeze

Summer, a murmur of moments away
Calmer, the commonness of middle day
Fairer the freeway of blush pinks and creams
Where May is heaven of earth, so it seems

© Janet Martin

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Analyzing Outlooks

Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth 
by your great power and outstretched arm. 
Nothing is too hard for you.

Jer.32:17





Darling, do your dreams seem futile
As the streams that forward flow
Through a hue of green-blue-purple
To a place we do not know

Darling, does your heart beat broken
By the art of push and shove
While each morning metes its token
Of mercy’s unspoken love

Darling, are you filled with anguish
For a shore of summers spent
Does your spirit thrive or languish
In this world of discontent

Darling, in life’s test and trouble
Have you learned a deeper joy
Than the elemental bubble
That a stiff wind will destroy

Darling, are you humbly thankful
For time’s fresh favor from God
Where each day is like a jewel
In a crown of season-sod

© Janet Martin

Oh, This Life







Oh, this sacred breadth of being
With its breath-by-breath decay
Is a journey toward seeing
How swift life’s gift slips away

Oh, this beauty of becoming
Where Duty and dream ally
Is like listening to the humming
Of a choir in the sky

Oh, this flower-favored laughter
Oh, this longing-labored fear
Cunning, shapes the stunning After
In the echo of a year

Cherish ev’ry bit of living
Savor its sun-shadow sweep
For Time’s hand, so full of giving
Leaves so little we can keep

Oh, this road of woe and wonder
Oh, this hunger-driven laud
Is a brief joy-grief encounter
On a journey back to God

© Janet Martin

Last evening I went out with a couple friends to celebrate a 50th birthday.
"Hi Marie,(sharing the poem from your card:)
You visit this porch from time to time
 so I did not want your card to be poemless!
Thank-you for reading and your kind interest and words of appreciation over the years".

Wishing each of you blessed miles in your journey today!

Whether we're coasting downhill or struggling up,
our God of grace is with us!

You make known to me the path of life;
You will fill me with joy in Your presence,
with eternal pleasures at Your right hand
Ps.16:11

The path of the righteous is like the morning sun,
shining ever bright til the full light of day.
Prov.4:18


Monday, May 29, 2017

Prayer For the Pilgrim

 




Lord, make us more than merchants of moments that fade away
Lord, fill our hearts with love for fellow-travelers today
For who knows by the time the sun sets who of us will pass
From here to where no one returns to shout hurray, alas

Lord, take our brokenness and make it fitting for love’s task
Banish our bitterness and live through us, I humbly ask
For who of us is better than the rest of us; no one
And we all need forgiveness for the sins that we have done

Lord, bind the heart that sorrows, with the kindness of Your word
Remind us that Your promises are pure and undeterred
For who or what can comfort besides Heaven’s Hope unfurled
In pages that prepare us for a place beyond this world

© Janet Martin



 My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word. 
Ps.119:28 NIV



Saturday, May 27, 2017

The Stars Can Wait

Look Janet, gasped little Luke, it's a whole field of wishing-flowers!
...and soon they fly upon their wishes ...and instead of little colorful boots, it's bigger than mom or dad's shoes
  ....instead of toy trucks and cars it's big-boy trucks and cars





They heap the heart with happiness
And tender, simple joys
They keep us steady in life’s mess
Life’s little girls and boys

They teach us how to slow our feet
To listen, not just hear
To reach for more than bread and meat
While they are sweet and near

For, far too soon their wings will spread
And they will fly away
The stars can wait, dear mom and dad
Be with your child today

© Janet Martin