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

You reach from the mercy seat

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

God, there is no other

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...

  

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.

Of Preparations...

Matt. 25: 1-13  

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

Mankind acknowledges his dependence on God

© 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!
⁶ For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
    Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord,
⁷ a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones,
    and awesome above all who are around him?
⁸ O Lord God of hosts,
    who is mighty as you are, O Lord,
    with your faithfulness all around you?
⁹ 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

A Holy Experience

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~

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

The Sunday Whirl

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.'

...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