Tuesday, November 13, 2012

To my Son/Children...Don't Forget






They say that *‘life is what happens
If that is so, then son, I know
That soon you'll be a man

So before you discover
That you want to fly away
Will you listen for a moment
There are some things I want to say…


Don’t forget to live while you’re dreaming
But dream while you’re living too
Don’t forget to pray because above all others
My son, God loves you

And remember, for every choice we make
There is a consequence
And for every temptation come what may
There is a sure Defense

My dearest son, it’s a big, big world
Yet oh, so very small
Fix your hope above this scope
Of temperamental brawl

And don’t forget when the world is dark
And you feel all alone
I am as close as the front porch light
Or a telephone
And someday when you are so busy
Marveling at time’s swift flight
Don’t forget to call your mother
Even if its just to say 'good-night'
And don't forget, that in her prayers
She always holds you tight

© Janet Martin

Matthew was recalling some times we had when 'he was little'...
and that *quote hit me.

November's Little Day






While nature goes about its busyness
Of dying or silent hibernation
We sight the virgin snowflake’s dizziness
Of spiraling arabesque elation

Sallow-gray daylight dips to eventide
We cannot quell the darkness with protest
As surely as we greet the morning light
It drifts across the small sky to the west

The stealthy thief of hours never sleeps
And in like-manner, as July’s demise
November soon will join the phantom deeps
Of history and echoed lullabies

But now it spills its thousand shades of gray
Across the hour of its little day

© Janet Martin


Recipe Poems

Poetics Aside Prompt:
Today is a Two-for-Tuesday prompt, and they both come from Michael Grove.
Here are Mike’s prompts:
  1. Write a letter poem.
  2. Write a recipe poem 


Recipe Poems




To ignore the posted speed limit
Then drive faster and faster
Is most assuredly a recipe
For disaster

***

Mix kind words
With a gentle smile
The result;
Sunshine on a dreary mile

***
In time’s grand mixing-bowl
Pours much pleasure and strife
Many parts make a whole
And the whole makes a life

***



Darling, when we set aside our grievances
When we seal our lips
To creature complaints
Allowing finger-tips
To speak instead of words
When we add
Laughter in place of scolding
And indulge love’s having
And its holding
Oh darling,
If we make this our daily desire
Instead of loves ‘duty’
The result will surely be this…
…gently glowing home-fires
Every day beauty
And a lifetime of simple bliss

***




…and one yummy-for–the-tummy recipe

I have discovered in my inventing of eats
A new kind of yummy granola-bar treats
Take 3 cups of oatmeal
Then add what you please
As long as 1 can of sweetened condensed milk
Can bind it with ease
Make sure as you mix
You put lots of love in it
Bake at 350F and you will have treats
In about 15 minutes.


Here are some of my 'add what you please' suggestions;
I always add 1/3-1/2 cup of ground flax seed
1 cup shredded coco-nut
And 2/3 cup toasted wheat germ
(Some prefer adding a few table-spoons of melted butter. I don’t)
My optional yummies are ½ a cup of any of these;
Toasted slivered almonds,
Chopped pecans,
Chopped walnuts,
Chocolate chips or chunks,
Raisins or any other dried fruit such as pineapple,
Chopped apricot or dates, cranberries, currants,
Toasted sesame seeds,
M&m’s (red and green at Christmas)
Or anything else you enjoy

These are ideal for school lunches because they contain no peanut butter
And they are great for kids with wheat allergies if you skip the wheat germ.

Janet~


Thankful Worship Sonnet





With grateful hearts, oh Lord we worship you
May our mouths be filled with joyful praise
The morning dawns; Your mercy is made new
And though we do not understand Your ways
Oh, let us never cease to trust Your will
For from Your palm the course of seasons move
Within life’s ebb and flow, gently you fill
Our cups of joy or sorrow with Your love
The spectrum of Your might is fathomless
And infinite as Your abundant grace
Sustaining both the aged and the youth
Lord, in Your everlasting faithfulness
Our feeble fears and pondering we place
For You are goodness and Your way is truth

Dare we to doubt the God of earth and sky?
Your wisdom far exceeds our realm of thought
Knowledge, time, wealth can never nullify
The marvels that in You alone are taught
To grasp the fullness of Your wonder, Lord
Exceeds the wanton reach of mortal wit
Yet, to ignore You God, none can afford
Or seek to grasp the height and depth of it
The patterns of our folly You despise
And yet, for us You offered Your own blood
Upon Your guiltless form sin’s debt was laid
And in Love’s precious bleeding sacrifice
Redemption poured in agonizing flood
As once for all man’s awful debt was paid

With awe-filled hearts we worship You, oh King
For none can boast of love as great as this
You do not leave us hopeless, suffering
But love us as Your timeless promises
Imbue the fainting, panting, troubled heart
Girding us in the hour of unbelief
As through Your Spirit, kindly You impart
Compassion in the darkest hour of grief
Oh Lord our God, our Solace and our Shield
With thankful, humble wonder we applaud
The Keeper of the stars; infinity
The artist of the forest and the field
The author of salvation, You, oh God
Are worthy of our praise eternally

© Janet Martin

Monday, November 12, 2012

November Wind (edited re-post)





Tonight with sullen scowl it strips
The ragged, rusty leaf
From limbs; and curl its sullen lips
Across our summer grief
Tonight the ragged moon is dull
And teardrops lash the dark
Where every hedge and ditch is full
Of autumn’s waning spark

Tonight it preys outside the door
And creeps beneath the sash
Tonight, across an empty shore
Its yearning billows crash
In sulks of sobbing mutiny
Across earth’s barren form
A sorrowful soliloquy
A brusque and brazen storm

Tonight the landscape is a floor
The wind a ruthless broom
Crashing through burnished corridor
And nature’s living room
It sweeps in vile abandonment
The orchards; tattered vines
In gusts of violent discontent
It rages and resigns

Tonight we tuck the little child
Between warm quilts of down
And though the restless dark is wild
And every leaf far-blown
It cannot chill the firelight
Where precious memories glow
We hold their pleasure close tonight
And let November blow

Janet Martin

 Two weeks ago the wind raged mightily; it is attempting a re-play today.




Because She Understands





When I am brave
I peer into the mirror
And look straight into the eyes that I cannot gyp
Because I know her better
Than anyone else
How she aches at the touch of the moments that slip
And how her face
Is a misleading veneer
To the passion and folly and wonder that throbs
In misconstrued messages
Floundering clumsily
In sighs or silence, in laughter, in sobs
For there are no words
To accurately spell
Her deepest fulfillment or daring demands
But when I am brave
I look in the mirror
Straight into her eyes because she understands

© Janet Martin

Because of His Richness in Mercy and Love





Because of His exceedingly great love
And because of His richness in mercy
He has prepared heaven’s kingdom above
For those who believe; the ransomed and free
Because of His merciful, patient embrace
He has extended Time’s tender caress
So all may believe and be saved by His grace
Not of our works; but through His Righteousness
Because of His kind and compassionate ALL
He could not bear to condemn His beloved
But suffered for us, dark Calvary’s gall
His infinite love and mercy He proved
And because of His richness in mercy and love
We have hope not of this world, but above

Our vile and inherited seed of sin
Could not atone guilt with guilt-tainted dust
But God gave instead His Beloved Son
And now in the name of Jesus we trust
As we become heirs, not of earth’s transient scope
But heirs and joint-heirs of a heavenly King
And this is our glorious, eternal hope
Through His precious blood and gifted offering
By grace we are saved, not of works lest we boast
Death could not contain Jesus Christ the Lord
For He is Life; and our Uttermost
Through Him we inherit Heaven’s reward
And still His abundant mercy implores
To the lost before Grace and Time seals its doors

Lord Jesus, rich is His mercy and grace
Oh, what a love that He does not condemn
But has gone away to prepare a place
For us, in a holy and heavenly realm
Jesus did not come in flesh and blood
To condemn the world, but that we may be saved
And hallelujah, in Calvary’s flood
Death has been conquered; our hope is engraved
In the scars of His hands, His feet, His brow
Surely we cannot fathom the height
The depth, the breadth of His love and how
He willingly bore our Death for our Life
Because God, rich in mercy, grace and good-will
Loved us so, and oh how He loves us still

© Janet Martin

Over and over I read this verse this morning
‘But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy…’ Eph. 2: 4

A Good Read;  Eph. 2: 1-10

John 3: 16-17

Romans 8: 38-39

New Invention for Patience




Poetics Aside Prompt; Write about a piece of technology or engineering that does not exist but that should.  It could be a tribute to something that came to be because of a writer’s imagination, like a helicopter or a submarine or a filtration system that makes urine potable.  Or it could be the original imagination that may one day lead to a new piece of technology, like cloud movers, flood distributors, skyhooks, or levitation chairs.

( I realize my poem is not exactly technology but, it would be nice if someone invented this:) Due to mothering challenges this is the first thought that came to mind:))

Mankind discovers countless cures
To soothe or relieve our ill
But I wish that somebody could invent
A healthy patience pill

Then, for life’s sudden grievances
Or lack of kind good-will
We wouldn’t fret, but simply pop
A little patience pill

Technology is never done
Progress never stands still
And I’m inclined to think someday
They’ll make a patience pill

For traffic jams or check-out lines
While waiting for Jill or Bill
Or as we wait to see the doc
We pop a patience pill

And wouldn’t it be lovely
If we could get a free re-fill
Simply by snapping our fingers
Oops, I think we need a patience pill

© Janet Martin

Here is another ad for Patience Boosters:)

In this world of texting and technology and instant everything
the demand for patience is higher than ever before. The lack thereof  has increased blood-pressure, traffic accidents, lazy attitudes, apathy, ignorance...the list is endless.

Now we have exactly what you have been waiting for!
...while your child throws a tantrum, or your spouse is late to dinner ....again, or your sister borrowed your favorite shoes without asking or your employees call in sick because its sunny; NO WORRIES !

Here is your opportunity to enjoy our NEW in a thousand flavors Patience Booster. Patience Booster is available in a pill, in instant flakes, or simply pour our versatile pre-packaged mix into a glass or travel-mug, add water and WALLA! you have a smooth, delectable and satisfying mini-vacation while immediately forgetting what had you so intensely stressed! Did your wife forget to pay 'that bill'? NO PROBLEM! Instant patience booster immediately dissolves any reaction of distress or rage. Are you stuck in traffic? Wonderful!. Our Patience Booster Lozenges are perfect, long-lasting and will turn your waiting time into an experience of blissful diversion. With Patience Booster you no longer need to fear sudden melt-downs or uncontrollable fits of frustration. Patience Booster is guaranteed to immediately distract and dissolve your annoyance and its negative side effects or your money back!

This is a limited time offer, so PLEASE! Have your credit card available and call 1-777-444-0000. If you call in the next 15 minutes not only will you get the full Patience Booster Variety Pack, but we will include one free sample of Forever Youth, so pick up your phone and call immediately. You cannot afford to be without this product one moment longer! Once more the # is 1-777-444-0000. an operator is waiting to take your call. If they are busy PLEASE stay on the line, your call is important to us and we will be with you shortly.In the mean-time won't you consider doubling your order so you do not need to worry about running out?