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We all have one
An original
Mystery and suspense
Romance, non-fiction
It doesn’t require
Pencil or pen
Simply moments
Cast in Time
I wonder
As you walk by
What’s being written
In the story of your life?
Janet~
Against the blue and frosted slope
I see a somber throng
Like matadors robbed of their cloaks
Or minstrels with no song
A thickened sort of quiet lies
Against the rugged cusp
Where winds, like stiff-starched orderlies
Have stripped sweet summer’s lust
And up into the vaulted sky
I hear the murmur of good-bye
Against the ruby thread of dawn
I see a silhouette
A lonesome sort of picture drawn
In frames of sorrow, yet
A battle-song of beauty moans
From thorns without their bloom
In dark and muted undertones
It warms earth’s stricken tomb
As petal-tear of flow’r and leaf
Imbrues the sphere with nature’s grief
Against the tumult of the heart
A tender peace resides
For as in seasons of the earth
God’s faithfulness abides
When life is rich with vibrant bloom
Or stripped of mortal cheer
He whispers in the aching gloom
To tell us He is near
And over autumn’s garb subdued
We breathe a prayer of gratitude
Janet Martin
The landscape shivers in the still of dawn,
Naked and stark as summer’s final chapter decks the frosty ground…
A sad beauty prevails…
It tugs the spectator’s heart in equal forces of joy and grief
Ah, tis true as the old poet said, ‘there is a flower in every leaf’
We string them together
Dark wood,
Gray stone
Sparkling jewel,
Winsome charm,
Wine-red ruby,
Lustrous pearl
Violet amethyst,
Obsidian swirl
Dazzling diamond
Copper, brass,
The teardrop
And sapphire
Tempered glass
We string them together
The sunshine and rain
Notes of life, love,
Of pleasure and pain
Sometimes harsh, bone-chilling
Sometimes smooth and warm
And when it’s all said and done
We have…
…a poem
J~
A spangle of daisies
On springs meadow-land
A breeze, slow and lazy
Across the white sand
A breath-taking canvas
As daylight grows dim
Yet, still mankind glimpses
But whispers of Him
The glory of nature
Contained in a seed
The strength of man’s stature
Dependent on bread
As rain from the heavens
Turns bare fallow green
Mankind is given
Soft whispers of Him
Infinite resplendence
Extended in space
Nothing but Providence
To keep it in place
And on the blue circle
A wee baby’s birth
Whispers of an angel
Descending to earth
Hurricane lashing
On vulnerable shores
As dark seas come crashing
Through earth’s fragile doors
Rainbows of promise
A tiny bird sings
And yet mankind glimpses
But whispers of Him
The ring of a hammer
The flash of a sword
The insolent clamor
For the death of our Lord
The cry of redemption
As His breath grows dim
And still mankind glimpses
But whispers of Him
Janet Martin
Each season in life reminds me of His whispers...
Job 26: 14 says...
'And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
how faint the whisper we hear of him!'
As seasons sweep earth’s scattered shores
And time begins and ends its wars
As history knocks upon our doors
What have we learned?
Are we, who live earth’s latter years
Are we much wiser than our peers?
Have we gained wisdom by their tears?
What have we learned?
As mothers, sweethearts, lovers cry
As newborn babies live, to die
As hatred calls and we reply
What have we learned?
Through all the badges, medals earned
Through building bridges, once we burned
As history’s vivid proof returns
What have we learned?
Through all earth’s battles, won or lost
In pages tallying its cost
With great technology, our boast
What have we learned?
Today we have the luxury
Of unprecedented technology
How wise, how wise we ought to be
What have we learned?
Janet Martin~
Inspired in part, by last night's 60 minutes broadcast on the life of Steve Jobs.
His analysis of life- 'we come alone, we leave alone. Everything between those two points
no longer matters'. quoted loosely...the sadness of his words gripped my thoughts. I can't forget it.
I would allow you, my darling
To persuade me with your lips
To walk, once more to the parting
But then, not as passing ships
Would we drift on silent oceans
Into heart-breaks endless night
But this time our love and devotion
Would dare to remain and fight
I would allow you, my darling
To brush misgiving aside
November is long without loving
How dull is its fireside
I would allow you to whisper
Those words I chose not to hear
I would not restrain the winter
If you came to meet me, my dear
The clock on the mantle reminds me
How moments flit through the heart
And though you are sitting beside me
Somehow we are oceans apart
When did we come to the crossroad?
Where did love’s passion divide?
Why do we choose to be lonely
While sitting here, side by side?
I would allow you my darling
To sway me with word’s delight
But somehow its lure is a weapon
Sharpened by misuse and spite
Would it make any difference
If we found a new way to start?
Or have years of hard, practiced silence
Molded an iron-clad heart?
J~
This is not autobiographical…
But it could be, if we chose stubborn pride.
Ragged, clouds, rusted out, nods, glaze, blade, bridges, drag, stretched,
straighten, rolling, beginning,
every now and then I still can see it
spilling from the ragged edge of a cloud
or tinting frost-glazed crab-grass
beneath the bridge
where we sat, dreaming out loud
and heaven would pass
softly beneath fingertips
and smiling lips
as long, barefoot afternoons
stretched across our sighs
reaching to the blue moon
and we would drag our toes across
the gurgling surface of June’s beginning,
but the rolling force of love's rushing streams
straightens our lop-sided fantasies
pointing our faces forward instead of back
to where I still can see
the perfect shade of blue
before you closed your eyes
and cold November's sky
nods over rusted-out dreams.
J~
The heavens declare your eternal glory
Infinite wonder and power and love
Symbol of mercy in every morning
As the deep awning of night you remove
Grand is the sky of a moon-caressed midnight
Grander the glory of dawn’s ruby sun
Vision of rapture, the cover of twilight
Foretaste of beauty surrounding Your throne
Who can foretell the vast shades of your choosing?
Who can declare how night’s glory will rise?
Who can define the palette you are using
Or brush out the gray of November’s low skies?
There is no artist, oh God, you have gifted
That outshines the grandeur or work of Your Eye
When the dark curtain of night has been lifted
Who can arrange one square inch of the sky?
The sun, moon and stars in celestial clockwork
Cannot be altered by one mortal hand
Who, as we gaze at the canvas above us
Doth the intent of the Lord understand?
Infinite mystery, unfathomed wonder
Floor of the vault where His holy feet tread
Mouth spewing lightning and violent thunder
Sea of serenity when its wrath has been shed
Beneath it we marvel, beneath it we tremble
Beneath it we gaze at the eye of the One
Who spoke into Being all things universal
His glory exceeds the moon, stars and the sun
The heavens declare and no man can deny it
Lord, there is none who escapes Your vast Eye
The heavens declare and all man will believe it
When You re-appear on the clouds of the sky
Janet Martin~
The other night I went for my run as twilight deepened to moonlight.
The sky, an awesome and absolute declaration of His glory and might!
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalms 19:1
“Dominion and awe belong to God;
he establishes order in the heights of heaven. Job 25:2
He spreads out the northern skies over empty space;
he suspends the earth over nothing.
He wraps up the waters in his clouds,
yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
He covers the face of the full moon,
spreading his clouds over it.
He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters
for a boundary between light and darkness.
The pillars of the heavens quake,
aghast at his rebuke.
By his power he churned up the sea;
by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces.
By his breath the skies became fair;
his hand pierced the gliding serpent.
And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
how faint the whisper we hear of him!
Who then can understand the thunder of his power?” Job 26:7-14
“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. Matthew 24:30