Monday, January 9, 2012

Rags


This is the apron she was wearing that day
On which she wiped happy tears
When she read the post-card he sent from New York
They had not slept apart in years
But that time it just could not be helped
Times were desperate and hard
He would have lost his job otherwise
So he sent her that special post-card

This is the dress she wore each Sunday
To church,faithfully, for years and years
It seemed the children and life needed money
And fabric after the war, was dear
But she never complained; though she could have, he knows
As he holds the dress to his lips
And inhales the rose-scent of lost, good old days
Between frail, trembling finger-tips

This is the hat she was wearing that night
When he asked ‘will you marry me?’
And her laughter trickles, winsome and light
Over his April memory
The shoes that she wore on their wedding day
He tenderly takes from the shelf
One room in an, 'old-age home' leaves only space
Enough for what he uses himself

…at the thrift-store he sets the bags on the counter
And says, ‘these belonged to my wife’
The clerk hurriedly shakes out the precious contents
…these remnants of a cherished life
If she had looked up she would have seen tears
From the old man who set down those bags
But she only glanced momentarily before
She tossed them in a bin marked ‘rags’

Janet Martin

A little while ago someone left a comment (anonymously)
On the poem Old Man. Her comment plagued me incessantly and I knew sometime the moment would be right to write it.
This morning I began pulling phrases together, that I had collected in my thoughts, but it wasn’t working THEN,
I read the latest post on Lilacs and Lavender (a sweet little note) I wrote it in 10 minutes!
Thank-you Megan, the anonymous comment…and God!

Treasure in my Hand




No treasure have I found
That is more valuable
Than the one I am holding…
…a moment

No treasure have I found
That I should consider
Worth keeping, but one
…memories

Here I am, God
Holding a moment
…the seed of a memory
Thank-you

Janet~

I would not trade any of them…
…these moments

The triumphs and failures
The holding close and letting go
The broken and the beautiful
The quiet and the commotion
The pain and the pleasure
The rise and fall of moments
The measure of a life

Victoria...with the water-can.
Her mom with the B-day card;))
and 'that card' which was a treasure back then...
the little girl on it had a fuzzy red dress
and I loved it!

Like a Sparkle of Sunlight on Water...


Like a sparkle of sunlight on water
So is the life I am living
God, help me never to squander
Or take more than I am giving

Like a sparkle of sunlight on water
A ripple upon the blue sea
Time is a vaporous twinkle
On the canvas of eternity

Like a sparkle of sunlight on water
This is the scope of our breath
We ought to consider more earnestly
The Life which follows Death

Like a sparkle of sunlight on water
Our trouble and sorrow shall be
Jesus has prepared the fulfillment
Of longing, in eternity

Like a sparkle of sunlight on water
We touch upon earth’s sod
A moment, a twinkle, a whisper
Into the arms of God

Janet

Each verse is a single poem, if desired

Invisible Depths


They come...silent,
smooth and ruthless
cooling my lips
where thoughts of you burn
They come, passing,
cool and nonplussed
like rain from my fingertips
never to return
Yet, they expand
crowding silently,
in volumes
innumerable, obscene
filling the air
where your voice held me
and the Present once had been
Before
Invisibly
increasing,
increasing
in oceans unfathomable; vast
Pouring in rivers
steady, unceasing
Moments
increasing
The Past

J~

Song of Relinquishment


As surely as the rising and setting sun
Are beyond our restrained control
So are the fruits of the deeds we have done
For the Great Keeper of our souls
Shall direct the path of the winds that blow
And where every last seed will fall
In this, I am satisfied to know
The Lord God is in charge of all

In what greater hands can we place our trust
And the folly of this temporal strife?
Than in hands who, for vessels of dust
Sacrificed His very life
Then surely He never will forsake His own
For His life-blood makes us whole
And as surely as the rising and setting sun
The Lord God is in control

Into these hands of pure unfailing love
I place every weakness and shame
Pleading that in my humble form He will move
And bring glory to His hallowed name
As surely as the rising and setting of sun
His love and mercy console
I give my cares to the Three in One
For He is in control

Janet~

The sun rise was like a broad rainbow stretching up from the horizon,
and symbolizing the promise of His mercy…new every morning.
Inhale, exhale the wonder of Him, who loves us beyond all measure.

Lam. 3:21-23
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

Something Akin to Love


Sheer sadness grips her chest
-an aching of tenderness
and something akin to fear
knowing, maybe she will never
be able to love him
the way he deserves
but, none-the-less
gladness tempers her sorrow
for the hope in opportunity
waiting, not in tomorrow
but in every breath
passing from her…
Thankfulness remains
a constant realization
for, in this life
she, by the grace of God
has been given the chance
to try.
Trying is, after all
the best anyone can do
with what we have
and she turns,
whispering
I love you
I love you
I will always
Love you

J~

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Heavenly Reflection


http://poeticbloomings.com/2012/01/08/photo-prompt-prompt-37/

A heavenly reflection
Has but one Source
It cannot be gleaned from earth’s sod
Then, even life’s splashes
Are tinted by Him
If our Master Painter
Is God

Janet

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Aqua-velva Coloured Dreams


http://carryontuesdayprompt.blogspot.com/2012/01/carry-on-tuesday-139.html

Lace your whispers through my mind
Touch me where no fingers trace
Let us board the wayward wind
Fly to our secret place

Maine is just a breath away
Morocco is not just a dream
We’ll scale the walls of yesterday
Darling, come and fly with me

Take the worry from our prayer
Let our tears of wanting flow
We will climb to gardens where
All the broken flowers grow

Darling, come and fly with me
Science bears no tangent part
For its logic cannot see
Destinations of the heart

Hold me closer as we dance
To love’s drifting melody
Darling, won’t you take the chance
Come and fly away with me

J~

I would have painted an ocean or a beach in that rear-view mirror, but...