Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Sonnet of Winter..........


The grapevine o’er the lintel
Has lost its russet glow
The pergola in the garden
Sits vacant, in the snow
The little child of summer
Sleeps soundly in its bed
Lulled by the moaning of the wind
Through stark trees overhead

The ship waits in the mooring
The sea, a frozen plain
No wave or warm wind luring
It from its port again
Across the field of daisies
A chilling sonnet blows
Where once the breeze was lazy
Now the shroud of winter glows

No tiny bud or blossom
To grace the barren limb
Upon earth’s frigid bosom
The light of day grows dim
Night draws its cobalt curtain
Before the day is through
In deeper shades it crowns the earth
Transforming white to blue

The dusty lanes of summer
The long, slow afternoon
Have fled to greener climates
Beneath a gentler moon
The sun-drenched haunt of August
A cold and silent shell
The world, a listless canvas
Where a sea of snowflakes fell

Janet~

Yesterday I donned a pair of skis, left the beaten track,
Got lost in a world of white, silence and memories……
In one hour the sky turned from a colorless grey-blue
to coral,deep pink,purple, and then a solid rich navy blue.....

Monday, December 27, 2010

Ensnared.....


Deceit will weave
with silken thread
And snare the spinner
in its web..........

Janet~

Authors....


Life is not a scribbler
From which we can tear pages
And throw them away…
We cannot toss days
From our lives
As if they never happened at all…
We cannot crumple regret
Like rejected poetry
Or the first line of a song…….
And we cannot go back
To re-write yesterday…….
Life is given
One page at a time
On which to pen
Our story……..
We all are authors

Janet~

Time......


We are powerless to halt the stream
That steals both dreamer or the dream
For Time is a river flowing into a sea
Which sweeps the shores of eternity
Time yields to no hand but One
A Scepter from a holy throne
We cannot contain this relentless tide
Which flows unrestrained to the other side

Janet~

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Then a Memory.......


Some memories melt
Into the shadows of the soul
Warming the heart
In an hour that is cold
Some memories ache
…a sudden twinge
Of bittersweet
A ragged fringe
Of half-written poetry
Left undone
Because opportunity
Had come and gone
Some memories gnaw…
A continuous yearning
For a day unto which
There is no returning
Some memories heal
The lonely ache
Left by the memory
Of a sad mistake
Some memories fuel
A potent fire
Turning the wheel
Of love and desire
Some memories comfort
While some make us fret
Some remain forceful
When we’d rather forget…
Some memories light
A spark in the eye
Bringing a smile to our lips…
...some make us cry
Memory is a teacher
Sometimes kind, often cruel
Memory makes us wise
Or keeps us a fool
Some memories are gray
Some gently gleam
An undying ray
To the impossible dream
The unalterable bridge
To yesterday
A smile, tear or sigh
Then it fades away…
A ripple, a rhyme
A small wave in the sea
A moment in time…
...then a memory

Janet~

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Winter Serenity......



It was such a night tonight
Crisp, serene and still
The moonlight tossed her cloak of white
On every slope and hill
Each barren limb, was clearly sketched
Upon the pristine snow
The world, a charcoal drawing etched
Within the moonlight’s glow

It was such a night tonight
A tender lullaby
Trickled from the dazzling height
Of silver-vaulted sky
The wanderer cannot hide away
Beneath this bolder moon
As all the frozen willows sway
To winter’s frigid tune

It was such a night tonight
How mute the dashing stream
As bluer fingers halt its flight
And stills the laughing dream
Upon a table made of snow
Translucent shadows fall
Where not so very long ago
We tread its emerald shawl

It was such a night tonight
When trifling poetry
Cannot capture it just right
Winter serenity
It was such a night tonight
Somnolent and still
And yet, this vagrant guest must write
Against her very will

Janet~

Yes, I know…
This is a spin-off from the one on front-porch….
The first eight lines rolled off my pen…then I paused…
There were too many avenues to choose from
This is one of them…….

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Those Thoughts of You........


Those thoughts of you..........
they tune my soul
in shades of blue
They rise and fall
a cadence in
the dead of night
a murmur
as the deep turns light
Banner of a softer day
wishes, prayers.....
Love, joy, dismay
In my heart-beat
Faithful, true
Are those tender
thoughts of you..........

Janet~

Merry Christmas to All!!!
Jesus IS the reason we celebrate!!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Almost Gone....


Oh, I see it tonight
In the candlelight
Another year growing dim
As the faint echo of
Living and love
Dances upon its flame
The flickering glow
Falls upon the snow
A slate once pure and clean
Now trampled and marred
And as sadly scarred
As the year that had previously been
I see in its light
A smile of delight
For sweet days I will not forget
But in this flickering year
I see the tear
Of sorrow and regret
Sorrow for the one
Who was suddenly gone
And we do not understand
As with tear in our eye
We keep asking ‘why’?
We sure do miss you, friend
The tear of regret
Is for battles met
But clearly not yet won
As I see in the light
Of a candle tonight
Another year almost gone
I see in its gleam
The wisp of a dream
Fall like a leaf to the sea
I see hope, I see love
Streaming from above
For the year that is yet to be
I see it tonight
In the candle-light
I hear it in the winds that moan
A whisper, a sigh
The blink of an eye
And another year, almost gone

Janet Martin