Monday, November 14, 2011

Dark and Dangerous


He loved her
Enough to give her
A piece of himself
Crumbs falling from the table
He reserved
For himself

She loved him
But the tasteless crumbs
Are burning a hole
In the pit of her heart
And the core
Of her soul

Love nourishes;
There is no sustenance
In paltry crumbs
But,it seems longing numbs
Her ability
To know the difference


Janet Martin

The Call of Life


Solitary triumph
Monumental grief
Oceans of vain doubting
Swallowed in Belief
Deep unspoken sorrow
Disquieting fears
Hope for each tomorrow
As today disappears
Tear within the eye now
Aching in the chest
Letting our dreams die now
Because God knows best
Brave blue-collar heroes
Unnamed and unsung
Longing, as it sears through
Thirsting on our tongue
Rising and the falling
Ebbing and the flow
We answer the calling
Of living’s joy and woe
Life's November weeping
Into the thin dark
Love's memories sleeping
In yesterday’s spark
Whispers of desire
Feathering the sod
Lifting our hope higher
And homeward to God

Janet~

I waved, to my 'blue-collar hero'
leaving for another week of 'invisible heroism',
I waved to my 19 yr. old daughter, leaving in 'scrubs'
for a new phase of training...
I waved to my 3 scholars waiting for the bus...
...and then turn toward the washing machine as the house quiets.
Each of us answering the call of life.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Breath-moments


http://sundaywhirl.wordpress.com/


Motionless,
the strength of these
etched against the coral sky
like phantom bees
steals my breath,
Dusk kindly cleaning
the unsightly remnants
from a day rapidly fading
before my eyes
to the safety of the past.
Breath-moments, a brief point of ‘present’,
they balance, swivel and slip
from the tip of my finger
invisible flickers,
yet eloquent enough
to form a life

Janet Martin

poem-a-day challenge; kindness

They All go Home


They all go home,
leaning on the arms
of their chosen loves
laughter fading into
the gathering dusk

They all go home,
silence dense and
enlarged, like a woodland
in the absence
of bird and leaf

They all go home
but she who wanders
returning the stares of
empty chairs
looking for love

Janet Martin


Saturday, November 12, 2011

Age of Entitlement


What spurs the seasons of this life
Which bleed upon the sod?
We squander love and hate alike
To serve lust’s lesser god

Freedom is not entitlement
To please our shallow pride
On autumn's crimson diadem
Brave men of honor died

Beneath the gray November sky
Beneath the warm spring sun
Beneath the fireworks of July
Our freedom has begun

Dare we to spill one hallowed breath
In thoughtless chivalry,
Or live as though we own the earth
Bought once through history?

Seasons and mankind mark the soil
Where soldier’s blood-drops fell
If freedom’s cost evades our toil
Then we are bound for hell

What spurs the seasons treading time?
Tis not entitlement
That brings the rain or sun to shine
On meadows that we plant

We gather harvest of the field
Yet, who evokes the sod?
Can we preserve our freedom’s shield
Yet spurn the hand of God?

Excess of things leaves senses dulled
To need and poverty
Our reckoning is not annulled
By our prosperity

Winter, spring, summer and fall
Will we be diligent?
Or blindly stumble through them all
Pleading entitlement?

Janet

Today's Prompt; Excess

http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides/poetry-prompts/2011-november-pad-chapbook-challenge-day-12

In His Service


Let not the measure of my love
Be vainly-scripted platitudes
But let me with my action prove
A heart o’er-flowed with gratitude

In service, humbly let me live
Requesting not of fellowmen
What I am unwilling to give
Or yield unto the God of Heav’n

The army of the Lord is strong
Not of ourselves, but by His might
He lifts us up on His right arm
And guides us through the bitter fight

The day is evil, yet we stand
His armor can endure the foe
Though fiery darts may sweep the sand
Secure, within His grace we go

Lift up those weary feet and sing
His promises have set us free
Beyond this vale of suffering
We are assured of victory


Janet Martin



Dominion and awe belong to Him
Who establishes peace in His heights.
“Is there any number to His troops? Job 25:2-3 NASB

Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that wars entangles himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. 2 Tim. 2:3-4 KJV

Friday, November 11, 2011

Architect


Selfishness and
laziness
form the framework
of many a
spectacular
excuse:)

Janet~

Bond-age


When the moon, like a silver dollar
Is skimming the crest of the hill
When day slips beneath the horizon
And evening is solemn and still
I feel it steal over my heartbeat
Akin to the gathering of dew
A rush of the past there to greet me
And I know that you feel it too

When twilight becomes the distinction
Dividing what is with what was
Enlarging my scope of reflection
And time’s vast expanse between us
I gather my longing that lingers
And wrap, like a favorite worn cloak
The echo of you through my fingers
Retracing the words that we spoke

When night’s broader shadows have deepened
As heaven and earth coalesce
When all of creation is sleeping
Beneath the pale moonlight’s caress
I feel you steal into my breathing
In whispers of soft azure blue
Infusion of pleasure and grieving
And I know that you feel it too
Yes, I know that you feel it too

J~

Lest We Forget


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EsMZ1w6nrU

I think this song is fitting, not simply at Christmas
but all year through...lest we forget.

Without Numbers



We add them to count seconds.
They multiply to minutes,
then hours, days,
weeks, months and years;
A sequence of ever increasing history
to total the sum
of one life
and one death
where we step
from this number-bound threshold
into an eternity
without numbers.

Janet~