Kind and True...A Morning Song of Praise

We are not bound to that

Which will not pass again

Oh, praise the One who does not keep

Remembrance of our sin

But from fathoms of grace

Bestows not old, but New

And lays upon this hearth of dirt

His mercy kind and true

Tomorrow none can know

And yesterday is past

Praise God from whence the morning flows

To those of us held fast

Within His loving care

He does not give our due

But stirs the dark with morning where

His Hand is kind and true

Man’s boast is paltry blight

Beneath dawn’s raving sky

Oh, praise the One who parts the night

For fools like you and I

His law is without fault

His mercies ever new

He tips the jars of heaven with

His goodness kind and true

We are not bound to that

Which will not pass again

Oh, praise the One who offers us

A fresh place to begin

And from fathoms of grace

Refills the old with new

And heaps upon this hearth of hurt

His Friendship, kind and true

© Janet Martin

Of Footholds and Age-old New

 They wander about for food and growl if they are not satisfied.

But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength; 

Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, 

For You have been my stronghold 

And a refuge in the day of my distress.

O my strength, I will sing praises to You; 

For God is my stronghold, 

the God who shows me lovingkindness. 

Ps.59:15-17

The dark veil rends

And from the line

At the base of the sky

Mercy extends light's soft incline

From God

To you and I

Before twilight

Will tuck its hem

Around the girth of earth

I wonder what time will unfold

From this age-old

New birth

Dawn’s fresh foothold

Is pink and gold

It’s lark-song ladder spills

Up through new blue

Into the true and perfect

What-God-wills

© Janet Martin

Permission Granted

It’s time to snub the dictation of hours

To slow down, my love, and stroll among flowers

For we are not heirs to this chair full of sky

Or this jug of lemonade we call July

It’s time to amend our priorities

Come, sit and list to the song of the trees

It slides from each leaf in a shush-hushing lay

And slips from the lips of breeze-kin as they play

It’s time to recline on a bank in bare feet

Where every grass-tuft is a window seat

And every seat is the end of a dock

Far, far from the edict of tick-tock, tick-tock

It’s time to admit that we want more than this

Frenzy-touch hurry-hello-farewell kiss

Come to the garden; un-tether the noose

That binds you and keeps you from being footloose

It’s time to walk through that long-sought Brigadoon

Complete with a sweet-tea-and-book afternoon

Permission granted, chants the dream-blue sky

For it will not always be July

© Janet Martin

What and Where Is It? Ah, Yes...Here and Now

click on images to enlarge

It fills our lungs and spills

From existence’s core

Free of charge, yet with a price tag

Too weighty to ignore

It rushes through our veins

And out across the sea

It sweeps the hills and dell with blooms

And strips the laden tree

It cannot be reined in

Nor hastened as it pours

Invisible, yet full of proof

Through God-allotted doors

Silk-soft, how harsh it is

And yet how gracious too

It does not force replays for its

Discourse is ever new

It sleeps in history books

It vexes poet’s verse

It dances in the streets, its feet

A hand we bless and curse

As it evades our grip

And tolls a phantom chime

This intangible, hard-knock fist

This gift of grace called Time

© Janet Martin

(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) 2 Cor.6:2

A Lesson on Consequence

On reckless impulse

He did what he wishes now

He could by some fluke in time’s law

Rewind the clock somehow

And undo what he did

Choose what is wise and good

For he learned Just because one can

Does not mean that one should

© Janet Martin

Matt came home from work mid-morning feeling quite sick; he thinks he might have eaten too many wings last night when he was out with some friends...I told him I suppose he learned 'just because one can does not always mean one should;-)

p.s. I just read this post to Matt and he begins chuckling (he is feeling better) and he tells me, 'I didn't tell you about the Peanut-butter cup Blizzard I ate for dessert...'