Master of Persuasion

A half-breath ago youth sparkled

And fell ‘neath the spell of your charm

I was a carefree dreamer

Laughing as you tugged my arm

Now from the deepening meadow

I hear a plaintive call

As I peer into gathering shadows

To the hearth of an early fall

To the hearth of an early fall

Somewhere in your foot-fall of moments

You drew the bud from the limb

Unfolding it into a flower

As leaf-notes became a hymn

And the dreamer became a mother

With children to answer her call

While you were her endless summer

No thought of an early fall

No thought of an early fall

Gently your touch reassures me

That faithfully, you’ll hold my hand

To the end of a road growing narrow

Through a dark and foreign land

Time; grand master of persuasion

With subtle enticement you call

Urging me on from the summer

To the hearth of an early fall

To the hearth of an early fall

© Janet Martin

Tonight on my run I noticed the brush of fall

against the woodland that seemed to have been in bud only yesterday...

The Price of Love

I cannot be

Carefree

Anymore

Because

I love you

…but oh,

What a beautiful care

to bear

J~

September Thursday Thoughts

We lead, not by words

Fluent and ample

But by the element

Of Example

***

Habits make

Or break us

***

There is no such thing

As a tiny

Sin

***

Oh the wearying of worry

Futile grief

Powerless passions

Of unbelief

Oh the power of praying

Whispers of dust

Fly like an eagle

On wings of Trust

***

Worry and longing

Two grand wastrels

Of life

***

Why do you gaze in sorrow

To unreachable Past

There is a River of Moments flowing

To its ocean vast

We cannot reclaim the vapor

Of a bygone sigh

But savor the sweet nectar

Of Now slipping by

***

Lord, make our greatest passion

Com-passion

***

We fill our wanton chalice

With fruit of deed

Will its wine be garnered

From Need or Greed

***

I planted a seed

It grew; it bloomed

By God’s grace and mercy

I am not consumed 

***

When we fill the air

With patient prayer

It dissolves dark clouds

Of despair

***

Oh God, trusting You is so much easier

Said than done

But in our constant dependence

Life’s vilest battles are won

***

We cannot rend the veil

Twixt Known and Unknown

But, nor can we fail

With God’s hand on our own

***

Time, the trickle

Of Mortality

Flowing toward

Eternity 

***

Oh glorious thought

that sets us free

By the grace of God

go we...

***

NOW

is the only thing of worth

Spend it wisely.

Janet~

Perfect Peace

The loss and lament of yesterday

Has come and gone

The coral gleam of hope imbues

The trembling dawn

We lift our eyes unto the hills

Where none have trod

As the Unknown softly spills

From hands of God

His grace; sufficient for today

It wavers not

There is no Unknown in I AM

No hidden thought

And yet His love exceeds our need

And come what may

We trust the One who paints the dawn

On shades of gray

© Janet Martin

Thrill-seekers

In the thrill of the hunt for a perfect wave

The surfer’s passion is stirred

The poet knows; as it scans thought’s seas

For the power of a perfect word

J~

Of Hidden Seas...

                                                          Image Source: Free Foto.com

Oh, world of words that tumble

Where only thought can see

You rise and fall, you ebb and flow

In passions wild and free

You crash against the boulders

Or melt upon a shore

In master-piece arrangements

You beg, plead and implore

You tease the purple quiet

You please, torment, revere

And whisper loud the heart’s full schemes

Where only thought can hear

Oh world of words, an ocean

Without shadow, essence, form

Brewing, insipid, lusterless   

An unrequited storm

But oh, unfathomed reaches

As you shatter thought’s traverse

Spilling your tenure to the air

In blessing…or in curse

© Janet Martin

In Love...

I cannot dole out

The epitome

...of Being

Love cannot be measured, divided

Withheld or extolled

...in portions

Therefore it is impossible

To love you

…only a little

Intention falls by the wayside
A useless garment

...in your arms

The filament of flesh

Becomes bearable

...after all

J~

In Spite of It All...I Love You

When the shortcomings of Reality

Steal my breath

And foolish fantasy

Is not enough

To make up the difference

…I love you

When the curves of your wanderlust

Do not align

In any shape or form

With mine

And I am baffled by its design

…I love you

When the matters of Fact

Will not be swayed

As they scramble awry

My plans well-laid

Because life’s just that way

...I love you

When every thing we could be

Is nothing more

Than everything we should be

In life’s crazy war

Of misconception and muse

…I love you

…because I refuse to stop

Dancing, reaching, yearning

In this flight of

No returning from

Whence we’ve come

And because it is not good

To go where we are going

Alone…

…I love you

© Janet Martin