From Mist-ry/Mystery To History

...and so the ebb and flow
of come and go
and surge and sweep
and wake and sleep
rolls over a prow
of here and now
where loosened ties bind
a shimmer of echoes left behind

A few photo of a few blips of Bygone

 ...And so it goes; eager helpers

 

...wander...

 

...to fonder pastimes!

Wishing you a blessed day of rest!


(once in a while lines to a stanza wake me up, seriously!)
The first two lines of this poem jiggled me awake so I didn't argue😏

Ah, who knows what today will hold

A fulsome flood of gray and gold

Where summer-winter coffers spill

One-way offers of good and ill

Ah, who knows what today bestows

A tender blend of thorn and rose

Where plant and harvest stokes the earth

With parables of death and birth

Ah, who knows what today will teach

Our have and hold is filled with reach

Where love and longing intertwine

In tendrils clinging to The Vine

Ah, who knows what today will bring

Hip-hip-hooray and suffering

Where soulful oceans surge and swell

And melt on shorelines in farewell

Ah, who knows what today will yield

Morning is like a mist-veiled field

Where we gaze with expectancy

To places only God can see

© Janet Martin

A Work-a-day, Holiday, Come-what-may Creed

 Young inventor trying out his vine-line...

 

"Hey, wait a minute," says young Grandson,"Who gave you permission to hang up

My Very Bestest Blankie?!"

Whatever our 'bestest blankie' is woven with may its binding always be love! 

What is the Greatest Command?

He answered, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul
and with all your strength
and with all your mind';
and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

Luke 10:27

With what we have and hold

And see and say

And think and do

And whether we

Are young or old

Lord, may we honour You

…with what we touch and taste

And hear and dream

And work toward

May every goal

That we esteem

Always honour you, Lord

© Janet Martin

Don't Miss Out!

Don’t rush without resting

Time’s trouble and testing

Is always requesting

A new set of hands

Don’t live in a tizzy

Always far too busy

Where goals make us dizzy

With Duty’s demand

Don’t miss out on flowers

And picnics and hours

Spent beneath broad bowers

Of summer’s plush tree

With Book, boy or baby

A blanket, or maybe

A biscuit and gravy

Or a cup of tea

Don’t fret about ‘getting’

Summer’s bloom is threading

Earth’s loom with the shedding

Of green-blush-blue-gold

So work, but remember

Soon it is September

November, December

Summer’s embers cold

Don’t run without walking

Slow enough for talking

Time’s tiptoe is shocking

It touches us all

With longing and laughter

Where mere moment-matter

Writes songs we hear after

Summer turns to fall

 

© Janet Martin

 ...the farmers will plant them
    and enjoy their fruit.

Isa.31:5 

Have you heard the story about the Fisherman and the Businessman?

 

There was once a businessman who was sitting by the beach in a small Brazilian village.
As he sat, he saw a Brazilian fisherman rowing a small boat towards the shore having caught quite few big fish.
The businessman was impressed and asked the fisherman, “How long does it take you to catch so many fish?”
The fisherman replied, “Oh, just a short while.”
“Then why don’t you stay longer at sea and catch even more?” The businessman was astonished.
“This is enough to feed my whole family,” the fisherman said.
The businessman then asked, “So, what do you do for the rest of the day?”
The fisherman replied, “Well, I usually wake up early in the morning, go out to sea and catch a few fish, then go back and play with my kids. In the afternoon, I take a nap with my wife, and evening comes, I join my buddies in the village for a drink — we play guitar, sing and dance throughout the night.”
The businessman offered a suggestion to the fisherman.
“I am a PhD in business management. I could help you to become a more successful person. From now on, you should spend more time at sea and try to catch as many fish as possible. When you have saved enough money, you could buy a bigger boat and catch even more fish. Soon you will be able to afford to buy more boats, set up your own company, your own production plant for canned food and distribution network. By then, you will have moved out of this village and to Sao Paulo, where you can set up HQ to manage your other branches.”

The fisherman continues, “And after that?”
The businessman laughs heartily, “After that, you can live like a king in your own house, and when the time is right, you can go public and float your shares in the Stock Exchange, and you will be rich.”
The fisherman asks, “And after that?”
The businessman says, “After that, you can finally retire, you can move to a house by the fishing village, wake up early in the morning, catch a few fish, then return home to play with kids, have a nice afternoon nap with your wife, and when evening comes, you can join your buddies for a drink, play the guitar, sing and dance throughout the night!”
The fisherman was puzzled, “Isn’t that what I am doing now?”

Best There Is (from an autumn mother to summer-mothers)

Most days, thanks to doing child-care this house doesn't suffer from too much quietness😊

Don’t mind the mess; seems happiness grows best in mud and dirt

Soft, soon enough, dear mother you’ll be forced to face the hurt

Of tidy, quiet aftermath of garden paths and such

Where moment over moment winnows summer from her touch

Don’t mind the mess; seems autumn-ness comes quicker than we think

‘Those other, older mothers’ warnings happen in a blink

Where carefree chatter, little fists filled with wild-flower love

Are nothing now but treasured mist in mother’s memory-trove

Don’t mind the mess; its commonness weaves living’s ‘best there is’

Where weariness is worth this world of goodnight hug and kiss

From lad and lass of grass-stained knees and bare-foot heaven-ness

Soak in the bliss of ‘best there is’ and oh, don’t mind the mess!

© Janet Martin

Heart Full of Happy

 In spite of what life's plate is full of...

may we find ways to keep hearts full of 'happy'!

Head full of golden curls kissed by the sun

Bowl full of garden-green supper, yum-yum!

Bed full of baby tucked to dream-sweet lands

Crock full of zinnias plucked by helping hands

Day full of promise, table full of friends

Sky full of blue on blue that never ends

Book full of fine ‘my, oh my’ poetry

Line full of laundry and cup full of tea

Dawn full of diamonds and lawn full of shade

Bud full of beauties that flower and fade

Tree full of leaf-song, nature’s violin

Nose full of freckles on face full of grin

Jar full of jelly, belly full of lunch

Clock full of tick-tock, carrot full of crunch

Boy full of mischief and joy full of holes

Child full of laughter, medicine for souls

Choice full of consequence, house full of home

Love full of learning and life full of poem

Pride full of pitfalls we all mastermind

Thought full of echoes and plans intertwined

Sin full of sorrow and God full of grace

Hope full of hunger, persistence and faith

Sage full of wisdom and youth full of vim

Bible full of pages full of ways to know Him

Sink full of dishes waiting just for you

Stars full of wishes waiting to come true

Time full of trouble; its dust full of care

Field full of wheat-stubble, trust full of prayer

Dip full of puddle full of little feet

World full of wonder with no easy-street

Dream full of detours, summer full of sea

Heart full of happy as happy can be

© Janet Martin