Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Wisdom's Magnum Opus

 

'We should not ask whether 'The Thing' on its own is Good or Bad,
 Dad would caution us when teaching discernment,
 'because a Thing/action is always hinged to where it leads. 
After the ripple effect is studied you will have your answer
about whether a Thing is good or bad.'


Have I always heeded Wisdom's Magnum Opus?
Sadly, no. Sometimes I allow the sparkle of the splash to blind me!


Ripple-effects of recompense
Should cause us to be ‘ware
And consider the consequence
Action is bound to bear

Discernment delves deeper than mere
-ly breadth of pebble-throw
It contemplates the scope and sphere
Of how far ripples flow

Love looks beyond the present-tense
And sparkle of the splash
To where ripples of recompense
Are surely bound to wash

The path to Aftermath is scarred
By vain apology
Because of ripples that we barred
From our periphery


© Janet Martin

I Need More Than Luck



PAD Challenge 13: Two-for-Tuesday
For this Two-for-Tuesday prompt:
Write a lucky poem and/or...
Write an unlucky poem.

Abide With Me-Audrey Assad



I do not bank on luck
To charm what waits to be
Luck offers no assurance or
Accountability

Luck leaves no one to thank
Stars cannot see or hear
But by the grace of God go I
Through thick and thin, my dear

For when this life is through
(Death is no lottery)
I need more than luck to cling to
To face eternity

No lucky gal am I
But I am blessed indeed
By He who grants far more than chance
To minister to need

© Janet Martin

Instead, you ought to say,
 “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
James 4:15

Monday, April 12, 2021

An April 11th Poem

(Better late than never)
Started this poem early yesterday before other loves prevailed💗

PAD Challenge day 11: For today's prompt, write a prime number poem.
Thank-you Robert Lee Brewer for this helpful paragraph😉
"And if you need help with remembering which numbers are prime numbers,
 I've got you covered (here's a list of prime numbers up to 100: 
2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97)."

Got a picture of these beauties while on a bicycle ride yesterday afternoon...




Eleven days in
to the month that begins
earth's em'rald unveiling of valleys and hills
of stealing our breath
with sweet petal-pleth-
-ora of tulips and daffodils 

Eleven days in 
to bud-quickening
giddy with green in innumerable shades
as carol of bird
and dust being stirred
spark's wander-must's lustiest promenades 

Eleven days in
to nature's broadest grin
as rolling vistas and woodlands unfold
 from humming looms
rush hour of blooms
welling with springtime's wonder to behold 

Janet Martin



Onus of Reply

 PAD Challenge day 12: 

For today's prompt, write a poem using at least three of the following six words:
convict, great, play, race, season, and voice.
Extra credit for using all six words.
Extra extra credit for writing a sestina.

Sometimes dreams wane...
sometimes they are fulfilled!
Japan celebrates with Hideki Matsuyama 
as he, the winner of the Masters 2021




I am a bit of a born day-dreamer but am beginning to realize
in my mid-fifties, how the play of dreams is no longer center-stage!
Too much reality to focus on!

Attempting a sestina😐
I realized after struggling through writing this 
the extra challenge was using the six key words as the last word in each line! 
oops. See if I get a chance to try again later!


Somewhere along the way the play of dreams begins to wane
The great weight of love’s tears seasons the years with sun and rain
The voice of choice convicts or forgives; we live its Reply
The success of life’s race we run is determined thereby
Where, not how we begin but how we finish is the test
This is the day the Lord has made and He deserves our Best

Life is too precious to give it anything but our best
Reality plays havoc with dreams, thus sometimes they wane
Who knows what life bestows to compose the lows of its test
Some seem to get more sunshine; some seem to live in the rain
Where so much more than meets the eye is presented thereby
The voice of choice always at the mercy of our reply

We ought to give most careful thought to effects of reply
Because much more than meets the eye works out for our best
Where strength of character, not physique, is fashioned thereby
Our voice is heard without a word in life’s multi-choice Test
Where oft we face the race, drenched by life’s elemental rain
And in its storm the play of dreams sometimes begins to wane

But, even as the play of darling dreams begins to wane
The world is waiting to receive the brunt of our reply
Because we are all runners of a sort, life’s sun and rain
Matters of fact that season trust and dust of days thereby
For no one runs the race of life without facing a test
And sometimes those who finish last are they who finish best

This is the day the Lord has made and He deserves our best
Who knows what waits to take the place of darling dreams that wane
What phoenix waits to rise like a prize from ashes of test
What flower waits to wow us after a shower of rain
Where our measure of happiness is oft finessed thereby
Where love’s treasures that we possess depend upon reply

It all comes down to this; the sacred onus of reply
We bear responsibility for both its worst and best
The legacy we leave behind is thus designed thereby
Not by the circumstance but by the reply to the test
Where together we can weather either the sun or rain
And perhaps fill the gaps with joy when dreams begin to wane

So then, because reply is what a life is shaped thereby
Even when dreams begin to wane let’s face both sun and rain
With nothing but our best to conquer the brunt of the test

© Janet Martin




Sunday, April 11, 2021

We Laugh A Lot (among other things)


Sorrow will have its say
Time will have its way
Thank God for each serving from
Laughter's silver tray...

Something about mourning keens our senses 
to the immense wealth of simple things...


We open our hearts and arms to embrace
the moment, for Time guarantees nothing but its end!


This week had lots of messy moments,
but something about loss puts fresh perspective on
life's messes...especially if they're as easy to clean up as
chocolate-y faces or spilled tea, 




We laugh a lot
Though some prayers,
Still unanswered, stand in the room
Like an elephant
While we come to terms
Each in our own way, with
What we can control
And what we can’t

We work at Becoming
For He who has begun
Not finished yet
Sometimes we need
Undesired reminders
From Divine Authority
Lest we forget

Some laws, though
Initially inspired and
Intended to
Care and Respect
Are wrong, and sadly
In the end they
Damage (or kill) the very people
They sought to protect

Each step we take
Diminishes the
Distance between
What is seen and What Is Not
Taking God at His Word
Is the only chance
At lasting happiness
That anybody has got

We laugh between hurt-spurts 
That hone awareness of
Skin and bone heart-carts
Trundling, full of need 
We should not be slack
Concerning the promises
That we should give
Our uttermost heed

© Janet Martin

(puppy's repentance after being scolded
for giving Little Girl too many 'sloppy kisses'!)

Because neighbor's puppy is still a 'kid'
he happily disregards his owner's calls to 'come here!'
(with our assurance that it's okay)😊



Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, 
and comes down from the Father of lights, 
with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

James 1:17

Saturday, April 10, 2021

Get a Daily Dose of Gladness


PAD Challenge day 10:For today's prompt, take the phrase "Get (blank),"
replace the blank with a word or phrase,
make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem.

Get your face close to a flower...




Get a book, bev’rage and blanket
Lie beneath blue-sky hurrah...



Get a daily dose of gladness
Let it thrill you thoroughly
It will help dispel the sadness
And the madness that must be

Get your face close to a flower
Inhale heaven’s spilled perfume
Let the wonder of God’s power
Thunder from earth’s petal-loom

Get yourself some sweet spring fever
Face the future with a smile
Winter didn't last forever
Keep the faith though fears beguile

Forget about worry’s maybes
Trust the grace whereby we go
Sing and pray and cuddle babies
Praise God from whom blessings flow

Get a book, bev’rage and blanket
Lie beneath blue-sky hurrah
Let life’s reasons to be thankful
Grant a daily dose of awe

© Janet Martin



Get In The Habit of Writing Your Own Headlines



PAD Challenge day 10:For today's prompt, take the phrase "Get (blank),"
replace the blank with a word or phrase,
make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem.


It’s not the media that writes the headlines of our lives
We are the ink of love’s insights; of joy which hope derives
We choose between fear’s torment or the strength of a wise word
We make the most or least of moments pouring undeterred

It’s not the world that works its wonders in the human heart
But grace and courtesy unfurled in priceless works of art
We are the hands and feet that author change we want to see
Of helping one another, of love’s vows kept faithfully

It’s not the headlines that dictate our state of happiness
We are the writers that create ‘Front Page-worthy Kindness’
It’s not the media that writes the way that we reply
To high and lows of love and life; oh no, it’s you and I

It all comes down to this; whether we are thankful or not
Whether we let the tether of fear commandeer our thought
Whether we hold accountable the person in the mirror
To write the kind of article that others want to hear 

History in the making grants a very sacred gift
The honour of partaking in moments soon set adrift
Pray when Day's Dust of Duty strews its aftermath, we find
Headlines that tell of Beauty of True Love For Humankind 

© Janet Martin

A few of yesterday's headlines in my world include;
Grandchildren Help Gramma Clean Up Yard...



Gramma Teaches Tots How To Make Indoor Smores...


Anonymous Angels Who Nominated Unsuspecting Recipients,
 And Hardworking Local Florist (credit posted on FB only for privacy protection)
 Work Together To Create Happiness For Forty Surprised Flower-bouquet Receivers!!
(I was beautifully blessed to be at the receiving end!)


This post shared by a friend on Facebook inspired the above poem...


Friday, April 9, 2021

Persona Poemlets

PAD Challenge  day 9:

For today's prompt, write a persona poem for an inanimate object. 
A persona poem is when you write a poem in the voice of someone 
(or in this case something) else.

you touch me
but without much feeling
run your fingers left, 
then right
I, beneath
thought's stoked appealing
try to tame
the appetite
of a writer's 
wild obsession
as ink-pictures spill their art
I, only a humble keyboard
yet a window 
to the heart

***

I keep everyone's best secrets
'oh, the things that I have heard!'
I don't think you would believe it
If I told you, word for word
Dreamer's rave and plotter's vengeance
Lover's quarrels, hope's hard knock
All are guarded in my presence
Because, my dear, walls don't talk

***

All winter long you gaped and stared 
Half-smitten by my barren form,
Half, in pity as you watched me
Weather the toss of each storm
But now winter's war is over
Here I stand about to steal
The gaze and hearts of nature lovers
Waiting for spring's grand reveal
I spread my sun-warm arms, and suddenly
I pity those who only see A Tree

***

Break me, 
take me
between your fingers
Let your touch linger
as I run through
winter-weary
want and wonder
Plant me full
of green, gold, blue
pink and purple
orange, double-
zinnias, vegetable
buffet
press the tress
of rippling wheat field
into my, 
yet fallow clay...

break me, 
wake me with
seed whispers
Feel the thunder
in my loom
I am earth
The cradle of birth
I am earth
both womb
and tomb

Maybe I'll be back later to try a few more,
but maybe not!
Gramma and grand-sonny day today!