Friday, January 31, 2020

Of Intimate Enclosures




The intimate enclosure of the earth beneath the sky
Where walked the sons and daughters of ages before our Time
Evokes in us a kinship with the seasons that sweep by
As we take our turn at being drawn to nature’s rhyme

…to drink the potent nectar from Moment’s gossamer bloom
To be inebriated by sheer wonder’s thund’rous hush
While we are overtaken by a Presence in the room
As He walks in the garden unimpressed by man’s mad rush

…where if we want to make the most of our numbered days
We should take off our shoes to watch pink ribbons thread the sky
The holy ground we stand on ought to tremble with meek praise
As we worship the One who grants entrance to you and I

Pause, while dusk’s apricot gauze drapes the window to the world
Be overwhelmed with beauty as we sense His hand brush by
For we, awed witnesses behold God’s masterpiece unfurled
To intimate enclosures of the earth beneath the sky

© Janet Martin



Prayer For The Day/Way...

So much sorrow and sickness.
So much spiritual darkness.
So much more comfort, healing and Light
So much more God!

This compilation of song was posted yesterday!
Gorgeous glimpse of Someday Soon!


...in the meantime Dear Heavenly Father,


Make our moments wild with wonder
Help us seek the good and true
Where Your evidences thunder
Where our callow senses plunder
Fill our hearts with love for You

Today is a road not taken,
Yet; but it beams with Your grace
Thus let brave trust reawaken
Promises, pure and unshaken
Nothing in this world can replace

Teach us to trust without doubting
Then, come whatsoever may
In spite of atheist’s spouting
Lies; let their pitiful touting
Spill into tender prayers we pray

Let love suffer longer, kinder
Without second thought or regret
Make mercy’s proof a reminder
When faith feels dumber and blinder
It is not turned into sight yet

Make our motives meeker, purer
My, but mankind’s want can run wild
Guide us, make our footsteps surer
Our hope of Heaven securer
Through You, our Father, we, Your child

© Janet Martin



this song has a special preciousness to it; it was played at Ron's funeral.
Click link on Ron's name for more on that)
My oh my, how we at WBC and beyond miss him! 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

 In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope 
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1 Pet.1:3





The Glad Truth (of what Time cannot change)


 Because it promised to be a lively one...


 ...into the crock-pot early this morning went one thawed beef blade roast along with
potatoes, carrots, rutabaga, onion , salt, pepper 
and a handful of fresh from-the-freezer chopped parsley (flakes work as well)
Seal crock-pot with foil, put on lid and turn on low all day!
Nothing makes Victoria, the family smile like beef browned potatoes!


So simple. So good on a cold winter night!
One of those delicious delights that time cannot change!

Dawning upon us like love’s madrigal
Hails the glad truth of what time cannot change
Darling, the things that matter most of all
The Chieftain of progress can never estrange
In spite of all it seems to rearrange

It cannot alter the thrill of hello
When face to face, long-missed loved ones we meet
It cannot tarnish the garnish of snow
Soft on the rooftop and woodland and street
Spilling a canvas we scribble with feet

Time leaps with joy in ahoy blush and gold
As we set sail on a sea of new morn
Nature’s surprises will never grow old
Each bloom as fresh as the first ever born
Bestowing beauty to worlds weary-worn

 Modern-day mayhem’s most impressive boasts
Cannot claim credit for sunset or rise
The Hand that grants what accomplishment toasts
Is not affected by time’s age and size
No matter how swift the season-clock flies

Thus, the best things in life will remain so
 Leisurely picnics and much work to do
Teachers to learn from the tots in their tow
Hilltops to offer, if scaled, quite a view
Heaven-glimpse in four words, ‘I love you too’

Laughter that lilts like a gilt butterfly
Butter to better the best have-a-taste
Chatter of children as pure as the sky
Pleasure when we find the keys we misplaced
Twilight on velvet blue, quarter-moon graced

Thank God for puppy with mischievous lad
Sunshine that cannot be stoppered and sold
Beautiful baby and proud mom and dad
Humbled and whelmed by the charge in their hold
Thank God for wonder that never grows old

Wonder to startle the most wizened sage
Music to sweeten sometimes-sour notes
Too many poems to tender to page
River that rushes with autumn’s leaf-boats
Farewells that leave aching lumps in our throats

Supper that spells happiness in a dish
God, rich in mercy whatever our lot
Darling, the things that most satisfy wish
Time cannot altar one tittle or jot
No matter how many years it has caught

© Janet Martin

 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Heb.13:8

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

So Much To Live For!

I've just returned from a few nights in New England 
where I was treated to a year in Tasha Tudor's gardens
Oh, the bliss of book-travel! 

This trip was such great inspiration to start those seedling-dreams now!
Here's a sneak-peek to a trip you can take too (if you can find the book!)
I had this unexpected pleasure thanks to a friend 
who lent me a book she borrowed from a friend so
unfortunately you will need to find your own 'ticket' to borrow or buy!😀


A trip like this can remind us of so much to live/love for!

So much to live for where moments soft-wed
Wellsprings of waiting with wishes fulfilled
Morning is breaking, mercy is not dead
Rife runs the river that death has not stilled
Where life is granting so much to love for
Four-season circuits of hold and let go
Leaving us torn between graces of yore
Before the faces we kiss with hello

So much to reach for from dawn’s pulsing prow
Where soon high noon then twilight sweeps the lea
Meteor-showers of right here, right now
Sparkle and fizz into echo-debris
Beckoning us to be all that we can
Before the hour of reckoning comes
Where still so much to learn vexes the plan
Caught in the flux of Bygone’s tallied sums

So much to hope for where seasons soft-shed
Petals of farewell for buds primed with plume
Soon we will transplant the dreams in our head
Into the gardens that leap into bloom
So many poems still waiting to be
So many moments to measure and pour
Turning time into opportunity
Where today wakens so much to live for

© Janet Martin

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Nostalgic Nocturne


My blog is a bit of a poem-diary as years go by...
sometimes it's interesting to look back and see what I wrote on this date 
7 or 8 years ago...
in 2012 I  wrote

I still participated in more poet-communities back then, before my days grew shorter lol!
No, it's more like before I had to get to bed earlier in order to function the next day.
Sometimes I feel like I had more time to write back then...
(I didn't) but sometimes it just feels like it
... I guess the point I'm trying to make is that 
we can always only do what the day/season we are in allows.
The trick is seizing the opportunities as they come
and appreciating what each season in life offers (heart-tugs are love's bonus)




We cannot turn time back to when the days were freer, greener then
Or touch the place that seems so fine as we retrace its blurred design
And we cannot return to where we threw echoes into the air
Nor by the might of wish incite what drew away by day and night
Or by the charge of thought revoke the rules we broke, the words we spoke
Where what we leave behind still weaves
The scenes we’ll rewind on some far-off winter’s eve

© Janet Martin