Wednesday, October 31, 2012

It Seems...







Darling,
Are we the only ones
Apart tonight?
Darkness; it seems to amplify
Desire’s appetite
Oh, darling
I know I tell you
We are together far apart
But tonight it seems
I miss you
And I cannot
Deceive
My heart
Longing; it seems to conceive
Proportions of its own
And tonight it is not enough
To be together
All alone
For tonight I need to touch you
Yet, what is touch in the end?
But skin against skin; without you
Love, loss and longing blend
And perhaps all I really need
Is the junction of our thought
Brushing softly, tenderly
Over all it seems, is not
While I repeat
Dull poetry into the frozen air
Because it seems
That I am here
And you, well you
Are
There
But, darling
It seems grievously
Inadequate
This thought
Of
Blue
Sometimes it seems
Darkness ignites
My
Want
Of
You

J~




I Have Three Girls...





I have three girls…

One inspires me to keep physically fit
One inspires me to study the Word
One reminds me to laugh a bit…more
Three beautiful girls, thank-you Lord

Janet
Aka; mom 

This morning I was ruminating on how much I love each of my daughters for who they are!

Forever God



Turn of the volume...sing it out!

On the throne
Above the ages
There abides
Eternal Truth
On the earth
Eden’s curse rages
As we suffer
Sin’s abuse
Fear and failure
Spill their anguish
On the cold
And calloused sod
Grace and mercy
Never languish
Testifying
He is God

Time reveals
Truth’s certain harvest
Sinful seeds
Bear consequence
But the Father
Of compassion
Ever pleads
In our defense
Death would be
Our sure damnation
But for heaven’s
Tender rod
Our sin
For His salvation
What a Savior
What a God


No cross of earth
Is foreign to Him
For the cross
Of Calvary
Bore affliction,
Persecution
Slain Perfection;
Victory
Fear not, fear not
Oh troubled traveler
For wherever
We may trod
God is still
Holy, immortal
And forever
Ever God

In His hands
He holds time’s morsel
We are not
Damned to the grave
Perfect Love will
Conquer evil
He is mightier
To save
Come, join the throng
Of hallelujahs
Nature swells
In joyful laud
As we exalt
Master, Creator
Alpha and Omega
God

© Janet Martin

Of Confession and Intercession






I bow down before you;
face to the ground
Oh my God you hear me
though I breathe not a sound
As I pour at Your nail-scarred feet
my tear-stained confession
And you make intercession

A heap of shattered pieces
I lay down, my Lord and King
You make whole my brokenness
with One; love’s offering
And from my lascivious lips
pours my tear-stained confession
You heal me with Your promises
and You make intercession

with the power to redeem
You cleanse the filthy sinner
in the flood of Calvary’s stream
Holy, holy, holy,
I pour out tear-stained confession
As you whisper, it is finished,
and you make intercession

© Janet Martin

Autumn and Fulfillment ...a Blitz poem





 Poetic Bloomings invites us to attempt the Blitz

The BLITZ was created by Robert Keim and is a 50-line poem of short phrases and images.
Here are the rules:
  • Line 1 should be one short phrase or image (like “build a boat”)
  • Line 2 should be another short phrase or image using the same first word as the first word in Line 1 (something like “build a house”)
  • Lines 3 and 4 should be short phrases or images using the last word of Line 2 as their first words (so Line 3 might be “house for sale” and Line 4 might be “house for rent”)
  • Lines 5 and 6 should be short phrases or images using the last word of Line 4 as their first words, and so on until you’ve made it through 48 lines
  • Line 49 should be the last word of Line 48
  • Line 50 should be the last word of Line 47
  • The title of the poem should be three words long and follow this format: (first word of Line 3) (preposition or conjunction) (first word of line 47)
  • There should be no punctuation
There are a lot of rules, but it’s a pretty simple and fun poem to write once you get the hang of it.


Time renders autumn
Time snuffs autumn
Autumn begins boldly
Autumn recedes coldly
Coldly the gale seethes
Coldly, the rain weeps
Weeps for lost hours
Weeps for lost love
‘Love endures all things’
Love hopes for spring
Spring is renewal
Spring is hope
Hope spawns comfort
Hope spawns thankfulness
Thankfulness spawns joy
Thankfulness yields happiness
Happiness is not a thing
Happiness is realization
Realization of God’s wonders
Realization of God’s grace
Grace for all ages
Grace for all mankind
Mankind is foolish
Mankind is forgetful
Forgetful of every-day mercies
Forgetful of every-day gifts
Gifts, not filling hands
Gifts filling hearts
Hearts need hope
Hearts need God
God is hope
God is love
Love is not a season
Love is immortal
Immortal purpose
Immortal power
Power to let go
Power to forgive
Forgive your enemies
Forgive your self
Self is a ruthless judge
Self craves affirmation
Affirmation of worth
Affirmation of love
Love is the universal need
Love is the universal fulfillment
Fulfillment needs love
Fulfillment needs God
Love
God 

Janet~

Initially, I thought this was going to be too hard, but it really is a 'blitz' of simply allowing word to lead...
  


Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Naught, but the Hours That Haste





I dream of apple trees
Heady with pink froth of spring
And beneath, on its petal-blanket
We arrest moment-offerings
Before the hour devours
Its fragrance from our lips
And bends the apple orchard
With fruit that autumn strips

I dream of a cup spilling over
With fragments of faded years
Time masquerades as a lover
While a lifetime disappears
Yet eagerly he insists on bringing
New flavors I must taste
While heedless, I am clinging
To naught but the hours that haste



© Janet Martin

Beautiful Yesterday...



 This is the swing of my childhood...how I did love to go up in a swing, up in the air so blue...

Though moments may sweep
Temporal pleasure away
I keep my beautiful
Yesterday

Time cannot take
This treasure from me
Kept in the locket
Of memory

Tides ebb and flow
And nothing can stay
But the joy of a
Beautiful yesterday

Today is an offering
Caught in time's decay
Tomorrow it will be
Our yesterday

Lord, teach us to cherish
This moment-sway
Creating a new beautiful
Yesterday

© Janet Martin

Of Purpose, Passion and Poetry





Sometimes I fear
It may seem trite
To string words together
To soothe and delight
As many suffer
Begging for relief
From pain, fear, sorrow
And gut-wrenching grief
As wars rage
And innocent die
As the homeless wander
And the lonely cry

But then again
Surely there ever must be
Room for hope
For love and beauty
As nature reminds us
This earth is mere sod
Forever at the mercy
And order of God
And surely then
There must ever be
Room in this world
For poetry

© Janet Martin

Sometimes I really struggle with being certain of my calling. I would hate to devote my thought, time and energy to something God did not intend and it is easy doubt; yet we trust that if we plant for Him then God will give the increase.

We all are created with purpose and talents
God, teach us how to employ
Our gifts and passions to Your honor and glory
So we may hear these words with joy…
‘Well done, my good and faithful servant’.





Out of Storm's Reach





Whispered vespers elevate
To an ominous roar
The ocean is a monster
Devouring the shore
Where we strolled
Leisurely
On boardwalk and beach
We tuck tender memories
Out of the storm’s reach

© Janet Martin

Thoughts and prayers remain with those hard hit! The winds are receding a little here…but we will need to hang onto our hats and hair-dos for a few more days.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Of Preparations...






Warnings sound
Loud, they abound
Prepare for a storm is coming
The foolish sleep
Or ignore its plea
The wise man heeds the warning

The warning sounds
Long it abounds
Prepare, for the Lord is coming
The foolish sleep
Or ignore his plea
The wise man heeds His warning

© Janet Martin

As we diligently heeded the warnings and prepared for the storm today I had to think of this parable...
We know the storm is coming and so we do the best we can to be ready.


We also know it is inevitable, we are going to die, we are going to meet God. Are we doing our best to be prepared for this?

Goodnight all. Be warm, dry and safe. May God bless and keep us all in His tender care.
I hope to 'see' you tomorrow if our hydro is not out.




In Poetry

It is a little like love, I suppose
The height and depth and breadth of it
is not distinguished by whether
you are far away from me
or close 
But love loves in spite of circumstance
It is not a fickle fantasy
nor a hapless dance
but it is the matter in all matters
and such is the lure of the word
whether you are there or here
my want is stirred
not by your nearness or distance
but by an aching passion beneath my ribs
pressing against the levy
longing to break through its hold
and spill unchecked
urgently and bold
as thought is set free
to fall wheresoever it may be
in the inexplicable joy of poetry

J~



On the Fringe of a Hurricane...an edited re-post


The wind bends the air in mutinous growls
Baring its jowls, a ferocious beast
Yesterday’s sunshine is swallowed by scowls
As hurricane Sandy arrives from the east

Fall's jaunty languor has furrowed its brow
Purpose of plundering rides on the gale
As shutters flung open are bolted now
Respectful of nature’s preeminent wail

Elements tremble beyond man’s control
Over our delicate measure of thought
As we recognize the vulnerable whole
In every achievement that human has wrought

Faith, hope and trust cling tight to the arm
That gives and takes in a flash on the sod
As nature unleashes its wrath in a storm

© Janet Martin
They tell us the hurricane forces have not yet arrived and it is WILD out there. Many in the area are already out of power. It seems this is going to get worse before it gets better. My thoughts and prayers are with those in the brunt of it now.

Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord,
    your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!
For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
    Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord,
a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones,
    and awesome above all who are around him?
O Lord God of hosts,
    who is mighty as you are, O Lord,
    with your faithfulness all around you?
You rule the raging of the sea;
    when its waves rise, you still them.
10 You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
    you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11 The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;
    the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.
12 The north and the south, you have created them;
    Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
13 You have a mighty arm;
    strong is your hand, high your right hand. 
Ps. 89: 5-13

Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." Isa. 12:2

In Thankfulness...





In thankfulness lies this thing
Which we all thirst for and covet
So instead of intense searching
For the elusiveness of it
We should lift our heart,
And bow our head
And bend the stubborn knee
For to be truly happy
We must learn to live
Thankfully

© Janet Martin



Of Us...





I cannot get         enough of you
The shape   of your words
Or your silence teases,
Pleases me, and oh my 
darling, while others fuss
over love’s inadequacies
I smile because
I just can’t get
enough
Of
Us

J~

The Imminence of Autumn-past







The cold wind broods in morose moans
Its iron-girded stance
No longer frolics o’er the stones
In willow-song romance
But tugs and tears fragmented leaf
From stiff, saturnine limb
As heaven sheds its torrent-grief
From dark, nocturnal scrim

The imminence of autumn-past
Seethes in the evergreen
Its petulance an icy mast
Of purple-frosted sheen
The skyline seals its sullen dome
A scowl upon its face
And suddenly the hearth of home
Beckons with warm embrace

Somewhere the languid sigh of spring
Cajoles the budded strand
And lovers, carefree and laughing
Meander, hand in hand
Somewhere in distant, dew-drenched fields
The sanguine sunbeams drip
While here the barren landscape yields  
To Old Man Winter’s grip

© Janet Martin


 We are bracing ourselves for Hurricane Sandy! I didn't know what to do with all the leaves we raked up the other day...I guess now I'll wait and see what Sandy does with them:)

I pray for those without 'home' to go to during miserable weather. Please be warm, dry and safe.




Somewhere on the Other Side





Somewhere on the other side
Of this sequined glass
You are there
As moments comb the air
And hours pass
Turning half-breaths to years
In the exchange of smiles and tears
Falling in between
What now is
And what once had been

We are masters of nothing
But thought and its repercussion
As longing and love collide
And somewhere on the other side
Of this bejeweled pane
You look out to see
Your portion of the rain
Disguised as weather
Streetlamps do not care
If we are apart or together

J~

Sunday, October 28, 2012

As I Think about Men and Women





Men and women seek
Other men and women
Trying to fill a void within
Men and women find
Other men and women to nurture
Or heal its damaged mien

Men and women love
Men and women
For Love is a thread, its power profound
As men and women wish
For other men and women
By its gossamer potency we are bound

Men and women need
Other men and women
To satisfy love’s single utter plea
There is no other way
And no other beauty
Like these friendships both now
And yet to be…

© Janet Martin

Saturday, October 27, 2012

I See...





I see a day longing to be tasted
And an hour begging to be perfectly wasted
In the arms of a poem
I see silver sequins of autumn rain
Dazzling the view through the window-pane
Of home sweet home

I see little girl, eyes dancing with dream-sparked glee
…her chatter epitomizing ‘carefree’
And I need no purpose beyond its measure
I see the tears of autumn sky tug the leaf
In scads to the drenched earth’s sheaf
Blanketing the vault of summer’s pleasure

I see suggestions of duty which I temporarily ignore
As I experience coffee, Colombian nectar
Pleasing my utmost superficial want
I see distance as rain releases its onslaught
On miles traversed instantly by thought
As inches and oceans vaunt

I see contentment in mixing bowls, pot-and-pan verve
I see peaceful belonging in the familiar curves
Of worn furniture and floors
I see hope unwavering, of what is yet to come
As a new day spills in rain-drop percussion
From far and phantom shores

© Janet Martin

Inspired by Viv's I See poem. Also check out the picture of Jock's art on her post!




Irrefutable Dialogue





Love is a dialogue
Not simply of lips
But of heart-whispered murmurs
By fingertips

We live our moments
With an immutable choice
For the heart moves the hand
Thus, the hand is our voice

Can we teach the heart
The law of the head
Or are words mere distraction
To what really is said?

Come closer, my darling
I long to convey
Without word-diversion
What I need to say

© Janet Martin

This train of thought came about this morning as my son questioned me about why people do what they do in spite of what they say... I didn't know what to say other than 'it is the heart that moves the hand...not the law of word.'

Friday, October 26, 2012

...As We Dance





Darling, oh come and dance with me
For time offers no guarantee
Today will soon be yesterday
And that’s how lifetimes slip away

See how fleet years of painted hope
Whisper upon the purple slope
Feel the breath-kiss of moments pass
A murmur on time’s trampled grass

Darling, how can we bear to waste
Love-moments as they glide in haste
Across the ball-room of the earth
Where seasons spill their meager mirth?

The cold wind broods upon the stones
In blue and moody undertones
The blush of youth, the crown of age
Will settle ‘neath time’s silver sage

Longing and loss and love impart
Their want in oceans of the heart
Fulfillment is a mystic glance
Bestowed in moments as we dance

© Janet Martin

Save the last dance for me...J~





Time's Ever-hastening Season





With hope’s fresh hint in coral tint
Night’s deep begins to soften
On earth’s dark palm where all is calm
We sense the urge of morning
The raven tree etched flawlessly
On canvasses of heaven
Has laid its crown of glory on
Time’s ever-hastening season

Into the clutch of mortal touch
Unsullied moments murmur
From God to man, from heart to hand
Fall, winter, spring and summer
Then, as they slip from fingertip
To scripts of unknown reason
We recognize ‘neath life’s disguise
Time’s ever-hastening season

Upon the slope of virgin hope
A new day stirs our slumber
From heaven’s keep the moments weep
Like fall leaves without number
As we embrace the Hand of Grace
Imbued with Divine Reason
His love imparts from heav’n-ramparts
Time’s ever-hastening season

This tent of woe; it must forego
The mansions up in glory
From birth to death, each gifted breath
Is writing our life-story
As through our grasp brief moments pass
Beyond our feeble reason
From dawn to Dawn we journey on
Time’s ever-hastening season

 Janet Martin



An Evening Prayer




 In St. Jacobs, Ont. the church bells peal out across the town, those precious, timeless hymns. (at 12:00 noon and 6:00 p.m.)


Dear Lord, before I lay me down to sleep
A thousand thoughts un-uttered press and plead
And though my soul is safe within Thy keep
And though I know Thou knowest every need
I have of Thee;  let me not seek slumber’s release
Without first lifting up my heart to Thee
In humble gratitude; Thy mercies never cease
In spite of vile, wretched humanity

In spite of mankind’s crass ingratitude
In spite of our vanity and lust
Each morning still Thy mercy is renewed
And love forgives our scrimmages of dust
Like dazzling dew, grace spills its mystery
In rampant glory on earth’s dark facade
Thou dost not leave us fumbling hopelessly
Lighting the Way that leads to Thee, oh God

Seasons do not resist Thee nor rebel
Nature submits to Thy holy command
Time labors on earth’s harsh four-season swell
And man will choose to trust or test the Hand
That holds all things in pure, perfect control
And though we do not do the good we should
Still, Thou hast made a way for every soul
To be saved by the power in Thy blood

The rich, the poor, Lord, none escapes Thy gaze
There is no good or evil hid from Thee
Though we will never understand Thy ways
Lord, teach us how to trust unwaveringly
And Lord, before I lay me down to sleep
I pray that all would come to know Thy love
And rest assured within Thy tender keep
Until we meet in glory-lands above

© Janet Martin