Monday, August 25, 2014

August Morning Concerto



 As the sun broke over the horizon dawn's blue scarf turned to gold...

The earth is a sea of splendor
The sky a land of dreams
On every hill a garden blooms
On every cloud, requiems

Nature’s orchestral harmony
Of sweeping canticle
Blends bold and bashful beautiful
Into a miracle

Morning, a silk scarf on the air
Wraps far-off hills in blue
While on earth’s front row flowers trill
In heaven-tendered hue

...and we of meeker filament
Dumbstruck by happiness
Are blessed to be the audience
To such a choir as this

© Janet Martin


The sun has chased away those early morning cloud-swirls where eyes are torn between gazing awestruck at the landscape or sky; creation is a plethora of praise today! These Monday morning commuters are treated to a prize performance God-granted!

Sunday, August 24, 2014

We Call Him Dad





One of life’s greatest blessings
In tender, countless ways
Is he who lives for others
And never asks for praise

A merciful example
Of love’s humility
He never seeks attention
Or lords authority

A friend, firm, honest, caring
His wisdom shaped by years
Of learning as he taught us
…warrior of prayer and tears

Patient and understanding
Too kind for flattery
But rather with encouragement
He spurs us faithfully

He is part of the best days
That any child ere had
And no matter how old we (or he) get
We still just call him Dad

© Janet Martin

We're getting together to celebrate my Dad's birthday. He is in good health after a heart attack and by-pass surgery this past winter. We celebrate with renewed appreciation!

Hope's Possibilities





Hope’s possibilities
That we cover with prayer
Whilst on we toil, or on our knees
Are everywhere

Lord, grant that our faith
Though anemic at best
Will be the torch to light the way
Through love’s last test

© Janet Martin


 He replied, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matt. 17: 20

Saturday, August 23, 2014

The Mirror Darkly





Though I talk through you, over and around you
Pretending you do not exist
Still, still, ineffable, somewhere inside me
I feel you wrangle and twist

Reason, rebellion and servile surrender
Grapple where years take their toll
When did it begin; oh, I cannot remember
Subtle, the swift seasons roll

Bowing beneath Time’s firm, resolute scepter
Learning the art of farewell
I brave the face-to-face proof of my weakness
Honest, inexorable

Silent and sear; eons soldered behind me
Rise like a ghost-town bathed in mist
Staid, stark silhouettes of burned-out illusion
Grapple and wrangle and twist

Somewhere inside me I refuse to name you
Lest I succumb to despair
Grace gilds the silk of a soft, waking morning
Life is a leaf on its air

© Janet Martin

 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Cor. 13: 11-13

Friday, August 22, 2014

Risky Business





 "Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me! "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it?…Job 38: 3-5


This looking is risky business
For if we look we know
Such awesomeness can be no fluke
Of nature ebb and flow
And such engrossing detail
Of sky or land or sea
Climaxes, wild and wonderful
Studied philosophy

Looking is risky business
The order of it all
Whether of light or darkness
Amazes one and all
For, if we dare look closely
Then oh, we must admit
The only explanation
Is God, who ordained it

© Janet Martin

‘Looking is risky business’, remarks Annie Dillard in the book Pilgrim at Tinker Lake