Beware the Ides of March

He makes us believe he has fled

Gathered his bluster and dread

Feel how he teases against the south hill

Kindling soft breezes in woodland and rill

And drawing the bud from its bed

When did he stumble away

Over the field dull and gray?

When did he shoulder the brunt of his ire,

Exchanging cold silver for emerald desire

And spring zephyr’s passionate sway?

He makes us believe he is gone

But, be not deceived by his charm

Inside his mouth he holds one final fling

Sweet bird of the south, hide your head ‘neath your wing

I sense in his chuckle a storm

Janet ~

The Ides of March

Just one of a dozen Ides that occur every month of the year

Read more: Ides of March http://www.infoplease.com/spot/ides1.html#ixzz1pEBa7hzb

Blogger Tag!

Carrie has tagged me in blogger tag. I have loved getting to know Carrie through her amazing talent shared at Hope Whispers. So, Here goes!

The Rules Are:

1. You must post the rules.

2. Post 11 fun facts about yourself.

3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create 11 more to ask the ones you tag.

4. Tag however many bloggers you wish.

5. Let them know they are tagged.

6. Have fun!!

11 Fun Facts About Me! 

1. Black Coffee is my all-time favorite  beverage.

2. I went to see a movie in a theater for the first time last year.

3. I went to see a movie in a theater for the second time this year, and walked out part-way through! (lesson: DO RESEARCH!)  Wanderlust starring Jennifer Anniston is a new low for Hollywood!

4. I don't think there are 11 fun facts about me:) okay that's cheating. I like black jelly-beans.

5. I am left-handed to write and right-handed for everything else.

6. I prefer dandelion bouquets from a child to a dozen roses from a florist.

7. I don't care for chocolate

8. I love playing the harmonica

9. I love the sound of rain-fall

10. I've never been on an airplane.

11. I wear my hair up in a clip 99% of the time.

My answers to Carrie's Questions

1.  What is your funniest embarassing moment? A few weeks ago as I was leaving the restaurant I paused at a bowl of ju-jubes and jelly beans  put there for guests to help themselves on the way out. I felt the eyes of someone next to me watching as I fished for the black ones, so I looked up, winked a little and said 'I like the black ones'. He threw back his head and ROARED with laughter!!! (He was a lovely African-American gentleman) I didn't realize what amused him until I was walking out, then it hit me. I know he heard me laughing:) He didn't see me flat out on the step outside trying to get my breath;))

2. What inspires you most to write a story or poem. Many things inspire me, but God's creation in its limitless wonder and glory inspires over and over and over!

3. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you choose to go? There are so many places I want to see!!! How can I choose just one? H-m-m-m, I'm thinking...I'd like to see the ocean!...oh, let's throw in the Alps and Mount Kilimanjaro while we're at it:)

4.  Is there a series on T.V. that you always record so you will not miss it? I've never recorded anything in my life so I can watch it. I don't really watch TV very much.

5. How would you finish this sentence? "the love of my life is..._poetry ( there are too many people I love dearly)_____".

6. What do you imagine heaven to be like? I've tried imagining a crystal sea and golden streets and many mansions, but a real picture evades me, so then I try to imagine what God on His Throne will look like and still I cannot see. All I can see is me, bowing before Him.

7.  What is your first memory as a very small child?  I remember NOT wanting a nap and I remember the quilt! Mom says she thinks I was two years old.

8. How old were you when you wrote your first poem? I think I was eight.

9.  If you could go on a vacation today, who would you take with you and why?

I would take hubby. There is no one else in the world I can be more myself with, in spite of our differences.

10. Is there a food that you just cannot eat? Rare steak.

11.  Have you ever witnessed a miracle?  Yes! Four times, at the birth of each of our children!

11 things I would Like to Know About You...

I liked some of Carrie's questions so I'm going to 'borrow' a few...

1. What is your first memory as a small child?

2. What do you like to 'sneak' when no one is looking?

3.  What is your favorite 'writing snack'?

4. Who is your hero?

5. What is your favorite kind of footwear?

6. When did you realize you NEED to write?

7. Who is your best friend?

8. What is your favorite color to wear?

9. Do you have a favorite TV show?

10. If you were stranded on an island who would you like to be stranded with?

11. What inspires you to write more than anything?

Now here are a few friends I would like to share the fun with: 

(I understand if there is anyone not wanting to jump on the ride....no worries at all!....just want you to know you are considered for the fun.)

Gotcha, You're IT!!!

Mary at In the Corner of my Eye...

Laurie at Conversations with Laurie

Brenda at It's a Beautiful Life

Sherry at STARDREAMING with Sherry Blue Sky

The Happy Amateur at The Happy Amateur

The Bending of Time

It dissipates soundlessly

Into the clutch

Of history’s broadening palm

Splendor of heaven

That man cannot touch

Glorious, infinite calm

In the manner of centuries

Like never before

It bleeds on the edge of earth’s scape

Our humble gaze riveted

To the matador

Flinging o’er day's end a red cape

And moments of present

Dissolve on the lips

Of twilight dissolving the stage

Where purple-blue deepens

On time’s finger-tips

Bent on the turning of page

© Janet Martin

Above is a small taste of moody March, thus far. Actually, I quite like her mood this week! This poem was inspired tonight...the last # of photos on the slide-show.

Instruction Book

Teach me how to teach them, Lord

In this brief hour of holding

To weave a firm and kind regard

In moments smiling, scolding

Teach me what to teach them Lord

For there is no deliverance

So much have I to learn; yet now

They look to me for guidance

Teach me how to instruct them Lord

Oh where do I find wisdom?

You point me to your sacred Word

The beacon of instruction

© Janet Martin

 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Cor. 12:9-11

Listening to the Silence...

She listens to the silence now

The darkness seems enlarged somehow

Above the tiny feet of rain

Dancing upon the windowpane

And almost she can hear the knell

Of moments bidding swift farewell

And almost she can feel the touch

Of whispered memories and such

She listens to the silence now

The rise and fall, the ebb and flow

A cadence of forgotten years

Caught suddenly in one small tear

J~

The Cursed Thirst

She cried for him then
For the dear little lad
who loved the drunk
because the drunk was
his dad...

She wept for the lashes
on a back so young
because daddy crashes
when the whiskey is gone...
and then staggers away
crying
as he listen to his child
defending him,
lying
as a thirst drives him wild...

Some say *you cannot make a silk purse
from a sow's ear
But they've never known the curse
of a drunkard's tear

J~

Inspired in part by tonight's episode of Little House on the Prairie.

* A quote from the show

Strangers

Although you never tell me

I know your secret hurts

I study your reflection now

Without offering of words

For you know what I’m going to say

Before the air is broken

We share a world no one can see

In trysts, raw and unspoken

We sit together, you and I

In silences unhurried

I know your thoughts and you know mine

It’s always been this way, dear

I trace the outline of your stare

You crazy, sudden stranger

Who are you? I am unprepared

To attempt any answer

For I am you and you are me

And yet, I’ve never seen you

Get up and walk across the street

Or even to the next room

I’ve known you all my life and yet

I lean to see you clearer

For I feel like I’ve never met

That woman in the mirror

© Janet Martin

Most Holy God

You were not made holy

Oh God

But you were holy before time

And thus, I am stilled and humbly awed

That You,

All Holy, Sublime

Loved mankind so

That You sent your Son

Offering blood-bought freedom

To everyone

From thrones of Heaven

You heard our cry

And You beheld

With holy eye

The rivers

Of red futility

From goats and bulls

In an endless sea

Yet still sin remained

Victorious on earth

And man was chained

To its guilty curse

So in holy love

Lamb without blame

The Son of God

To men, You came

Not counting the cost

But knowing the gain

You loved the lost

Unto death

You testified

With your last breath

Our hope

Then died

But death, oh death

Could never keep

His Holy Love

In lifeless sleep

But once for all

His sacrifice

Has sealed our pardon

Paid sin’s price

And from the earth

He rose

Most glorious

His Holy reign

Supreme

Victorious 

Janet Martin~

 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, 

so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.  2Cor. 5:21

 Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy. Psalms 99:5