Of Swatch of Sod and Sweep of Sky

We splash across earth’s waking green

Past-present-future caught between

A swatch of sod and sweep of sky

Its palette pleasant to the eye

In constant marvel, life and death

Are juxtaposed in every breath

And soon where blooming bud was lent

The limb is gnarled and heavy-bent

Time’s draught of moments takes its toll

Where we are all piece of a whole

Greater than thought or touch and taste

Ere dust to dust retrieves its waste

Freedom; life’s greatest blessedness

Nor for greed’s wanton lawlessness

But as we grasp its worth we see

A sacred, elemental key

…Responsibility and Rule

Not for the faint of heart or fool

We yearn with clear and earnest eyes

To satisfy Time’s moment-prize

With more than dust of darling dreams

Or wanderlust-betaken schemes

For surely life is more than breath

To lead us to eternal death

We splash across earth’s waking green

Toward a Line, sure yet Unseen

Of tick-tock trampling underfoot

The miles transporting us to It

Time’s sweep of sky and swatch of sod

Life’s little highway back to God

© Janet Martin

I am reading through Peter Marshall’s sermons, dumbfounded by their simplicity and depth and timeless relevance…It is little wonder that the loss of his voice and verve were deeply mourned. Here, a small excerpt...