These Better Days We Hold...

The earth is clad in capes of leaf

And draped in shapes of letting go

Aesthetic appeal cloaks the grief

That comes with knowing what we know

…how even in the grin of it

The sting of it is ever nigh

And everything we hold a bit

Is but the prelude to good-bye

Thus, we cannot afford to haste

Or waste these better days we hold

For fear that we forget to taste

The full flavor of growing old

Time’s spartan grace of clock-faced ranks

Urges us with humility

To touch time's coattails with sheer thanks

At such an opportunity

© Janet Martin

The Fall of Leaf

 This fragile hold of thinning gold can run the heart full-through with grief

The beauty of each joy we love falls prey to ways of waning leaf

Like leaves that fall to deck the stage

Of places summer’s footsteps stirred

The poet pines to deck the page

With essence of loss hardly heard

To snare its sigh from dwindling tress

To bare the cry in human breast

To will to form the silent storm

And bleed its evidence to word

The heart is oft its own decoy

While caught in halos of leaf-gold

It trembles, torn twixt grief and joy

And staggers ‘neath the weightless hold

Of love that will turn into loss

Of longing, love’s sure albatross

Where like a vine it soft entwines

The steadiness of growing old

The random places that we go

From here to there and back again

Where bud dissolves in golden snow

And fills earth’s halls with muffled rain

Where we dance, held in ties that bind

And shawls unraveled by the wind

The poet’s sighs immortalize

The fall of leaf in ink refrain

© Janet Martin

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia

PAD Challenge; day 6;  For today’s prompt, write a phobia poem.

They give him a fright; 

His big-for-his-age height

Is small in the face of this roster;

The June spelling bee

An alphabet-enemy

That turns long words into a monster

Janet Martin

hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia; noun; fear of long words

Golden Resolution

The only leaves left to fall are gold. 

On hillsides, in valleys, along lane-ways and streets their lanterns beam!

As much as we can

Whoever we be

Wherever we are

And whatever we see

No matter our druthers

No matter our place

We should love each other

And this, by God’s grace

Give all that we can 

And keep just what we must

And treat our fellowman

How we hope they treat us

© Janet Martin

The other night Boy one flicked water in the face of younger Boy 2 as they were washing up after dinner.

I suggested to Boy 1 that it is good to remember the Golden Rule.

'Do you know it?' asks I,

No, says he

'Well' I tell, 'it means to treat others the way you want others to treat you.

The Golden Rule is, Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.

Do you think you can remember it?' I ask as he heads down stairs.

"Yep."

"Tell me..."

And he confidently replies,

Whatever others do to you, you do to them! 

The Golden Rule

 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, 

do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Matt.7:12

Ink-wired

PAD challenge day 5: write a wire poem.

The heart of her is caught of guard 

By blur of blue through stir of leaf

Her breath is stolen by the bard

Of summer's ghost on autumn's heath

She fights syllabic undertows

And writes from soul-springs never drained

For ever through her bearing flows

Phantom fathoms of ink untamed

...and she would burst, save for her pen

That spills the yen of word to verse

She, wired with a poet's ken

Lives, torn between blessing and curse

Janet Martin

After...

Autumn stretches and settles now

Her call of beauty heeded

Over and done, her color-show

Expectation exceeded

She lays her head on summer shed

And lifts a toast to winter

While some onlookers ache with dread

And others host a shiver

Her limb and scrim a farewell hymn

To nature’s leafy laughter

And hillside lamplight growing dim

Poised on the brim of After

© Janet Martin

That Is Why He Came...

" ...you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 

Matt.1:21

He saves us; that is why He came

Atonement's endless Being

God gave His Son whose precious name

Sends demon-darkness fleeing

He came; this of His own accord

Mercy, purposed and fervent

He, King of kings and Lord of lords

Came to us as love’s servant

He came; Perfection put on flesh

Hope’s Promise for all nations

Immortal God; man’s righteousness

And blood-purchased salvation

He came; left Heaven’s throne for us

Sin’s curse broken forever

He came, God’s only son, Jesus

Deliverer and Saviour

He came so when we leave this place

Death will not be our sanction

He came to save; His love and grace

Will be our Resurrection

© Janet Martin