February Night Storm

He is not playful tonight; darkness reels

His venom pelts fiercely, glazing windowpanes

The silver-tipped reed of full-moon appeal

Shudders beneath his tempestuous refrains

No corner is spared of his seething rage

Growling he ravages, savage and grim

Like a hungry beast released from his cage

He lunges, snarling at the stark, naked limb

Spilling his scathing ice-shard repertoire

Enhancing the comfort of kind, kindled fire

Fly, little bird, to your hole in the tree

Hop, little bunny to thickets and brush

We will not challenge his cold mutiny

Stripping the fell of its calm, full-moon hush

Rock-a-bye girlie and sleep little man

This cold scavenger cannot reach your cot

Pull up those covers as snug as you can

Dream of sand-castles and for-get-me-not

For somewhere beneath earth’s frozen facade

Trembles the surge of spring’s bloom-dappled sod

Then let him vent, howling outside the door

Splattering dregs of his fury, snow-spun

Though now they humor his bold, burlesque roar

Soon they will melt in the kiss of the sun

Rattle the sashes and whimpering trees

Spew frozen threats from your blue-puckered mouth

Oh, harbinger of fragrant, buxom breeze

You cannot conquer the streams from the south

Somewhere the bondage of spring’s petal-fray

Will softly unravel and nudge you away

© Janet Martin

The windows are glazed in his temperamental dally between snow and rain.

It will be snow by morning. I can sleep now:) I wrote this while I was waiting for my daughter to get home from work. She arrived, (midnight) very happy to be here, the roads are heavy with the snow that fell before the rain/snow mix. The fire crackles, the wood-pile is replenished, we are warm and have so much to be thankful for. I pray everyone is warm, safe and dry tonight.

Goodnight.

  

Friend or Foe

If you look to pin-point my faults and flaws

You will find quite a few, I fear

But if you are looking my way because

You want a friend, I am here

***

The critical eye is greedy and cruel

Preying on weakness and dirt

He fills his plate with envy and hate

And a scoop of gossip for dessert

***

Love knows we are not perfect

Yet is willing to suffer a bit

To get to the flower, it suffers our thorns

And love’s us in spite of it

***

Life has a myriad of things it will send

But none takes the place of a really good friend

***

A really good friend is life’s most cherished gift   

When burdens grow heavy friends give us a lift

They know without asking what they need to do

Life’s burdens are lighter when carried by two

***

I do not ask for wealth of gold

But simply this, a hand to hold

And when I come to this life’s end

I’d like to know I was a friend

© Janet Martin

Morning Prayer

Lord, let me look

Not into the morrow

Straining to suffer

A shadow of naught

Sufficient this day

Is its joy and sorrow

Life’s benevolence

Tenderly wrought

Lord, let me seek

Not tomorrow’s treasure

Of provision, strength

But oh Lord, I pray

Open my eyes

To love’s moment-measure

And render to me

What I need today

Lord, let me trust

Not buckling beneath

Burdens of worry

Trouble and despair

But Lord, let me journey

One foot then the other

Content in the moment

Because You are there

© Janet Martin

It's a Beautiful Life

The ebbing and flowing of night-morning brings

Mistrals of change wielding Time’s subtle knife

Carving the familiar with new-normal things

But still, it’s a beautiful life

Heart-fringes grow ragged, tenderly tuned

To ripples disguised in life’s surface-borne strife

Keening awareness of moment-drops spooned

Into the cup of a beautiful life

Babies reach, rush to an unformed allure

Soon son or daughter becomes husband, wife

Discovering in time love’s fierce tug-of-war

Shaping this beautiful life

Spring, summer, autumn to winter once more

Moments spill potent and ruthless and rife

Life-song of heart-throbs bleeding on vague shores

Silver-soft echo of a beautiful life

The rising and falling of Time’s gavel brings

Heart-wrenching changes beneath its grim knife

But still in the discourse of its sufferings

Oh, it’s a beautiful life

© Janet Martin

 Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it. Prov. 12:25

Let's cover this day

Layer over layer

With the rarest refrains ever heard

Let's spill on its gray

The tender-sweet showers

Of beautiful, kind, loving words

On some days we need to look a little harder, but its there; The Beauty.

Dreaming of Spring

And now we lean to that invisible scrim

Whispering thoughts of sweet sun-flavored things

Fingering visions of pastel-petal limb

As we begin dreaming of spring

Crocus, hyacinth, tulip, daffodil

Dapple our daydreams with glad offering

Arabesque zephyrs infuse the chilled rill

As we begin dreaming of spring

Wee girls in sun dresses and boys in bare feet

Stir in our smiles tender reminiscing

As swift-surging hours silent circuits repeat

And we begin dreaming of spring

Dawn spills its puddles of pink on the snow

Soon we will hear its music splashing

In rain-drop eight-notes where now grim gales blow

As we begin dreaming of spring

© Janet Martin

We are under another big-storm watch...

On Life, Legacies , Writing and Reckoning

The chapters that by day we write

Are soon over-taken by night

Against the crimson of the west

Its toil and spoil is laid to rest

Yet in the cascade of an hour

We plant the seed of weed or flower

The by and by of which we speak

Brushes its kiss upon our cheek

Perceptions of its distant day

Hover, a soft half-breath away

Where choice and freedom bears its yield

As fruits of our loves are revealed

Beneath the discourse of the sun

Another little day is done

Its ebb and flowing melody

Draws us toward eternity

And we do well to keep in mind

The legacy we leave behind

The fulcrum of this little life

Though riddled now with blood-shed strife

Leads us into unfathomed deeps

Where this ephemeral body sleeps

The soul is not restrained by sod

But journeys on to meet with God

© Janet Martin

While we were admiring the sunset, the traffic suddenly came to an abrupt halt! we realized how swiftly one can be here, then gone through the sunset to the Great Beyond. Thankfully, there were no bent bumpers and everyone was wearing their seat-belts.

Three Sonnets on Love

How nearly, dearly, joy and grief align

Mystic alloy of pain and ecstasy

A synchronized employment, pure, divine

Love; comfort and heart-wrenching agony

The droids of lust will never know its kiss

Infatuation cannot grasp its role

Of fingertips evoking static-bliss

While rending deep the crypts of heart and soul

And oft, we soldiers of languid lament

Are startled by its potent catalyst

Candid compulsion of unrivaled strength

A hurricane born from the purple mist

Gently and graciously patience extols

Love’s miracle of fingertips and souls

***

Love, wherefore art thou free to all and yet

We choose to spurn your pearl for painted dirt?

Self is master of ‘forgive but not forget’

Clinging to shards of misgiving and hurt

Love; nothing exceeds your hierarchy

Though lesser ranks may seek to dethrone you

You never fail; we fail you brazenly

But you remain faultless to see us through

The echelons of mortal-might deflate

Our vengeful scrimmages of trodden dust

Grow weary; the craftsmen of cruel hate

Will never satisfy the lords of lust

But Love, in spite of promises of pain

Inspires us to love and love again

***

Love’s tender truth drifts on Time’s moment-tide

Evoking thoughts of wordless wonderment

The windswept centuries all have relied

On thee, oh Love of God-breathed filament

As tarnished evidences testify

That love and only love will never fail

And yet its quiet witness we defy

To test anew its gracious, Holy Grail

Oh Love, you whisper while the demons scream

And comfort even in your mourning hour

Your song, a soft and bittersweet requiem

Blood-notes of rare, redeeming pow’r

Oh love, how keen the kindness you extol

Redemption’s kiss reaches within the soul

© Janet Martin

 Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?

Kahlil Gibran  on Joy and Sorrow

The Law of Love

Sometimes it’s easy to bear and decipher

Love’s laws perplexing the mind

But sometimes it’s hard, oh, so hard to remember

That love suffers long, and is kind

That nature of mortal is not geared to hunger

Or search for discomforts to find

The nature of love is unlike any other

For love suffers long and is kind

We do not love for selfish indulgence

Such love is sensual and blind

True love forgives and does not keep a record

Yes, love suffers long and is kind

The recompense of its mind-boggling mystery

Is not casually learned or defined

But repeats this truth , as proven through history

Love suffers long and is kind

© Janet Martin