Showing posts with label sad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sad. Show all posts

Sunday, April 19, 2020

The Tender Risk


 This morning I had in my inbox a poem written by my niece
for a history assignment;
a strong piece of writing in Reverse Poem and well done!
It tempted me to attempt this form I had long forgotten.
In much shorter version.
 (also forgot how challenging it is;
the trick to keep one line flowing
into the next...)




So much to celebrate… and grieve
With what we suffer to achieve
And weave love’s longing, bittersweet
As hunger and fullness compete
To penetrate with piercing ploy
The climax of sorrow with joy
To fragmentalize and finesse
The highs and lows of happiness
Where what we have and hold is but
Slow loss that waits to sheer and gut
The heart that dares to trust enough
To take the tender risk to love
Again

© Janet Martin

Again
To take the tender risk to love
The heart that dares to trust enough
Slow loss that waits to sheer and gut
Where what we have and hold is but
The highs and lows of Happiness
To fragmentalize and finesse
The climax of sorrow with joy
To penetrate with piercing ploy
As hunger and fullness compete
And weave love’s longing bittersweet
With what we suffer to achieve
So much to celebrate… and grieve

© Janet Martin


 Even in laughter the heart may ache, 
and rejoicing may end in grief.
Poverbs 14:13


Thursday, March 5, 2020

It's A Mad, Sad, Glad World


 The madness and sadness of this world sometimes threatens to overthrow gladness!
But if we keep our eyes on He who has overcome we will find reason over reason 
to keep the faith...

From the simplest to the most profound, comes gladness!
These tea-biscuits (recipe below) took their simple gladness to my mom the other day
where my sister-in-law, mom and I enjoyed an afternoon of scrabble!

Sometimes it’s all the madness that makes it too hard to laugh
The cold tone of a busy world bent on stockpiles of chaff
With blatant disregard to That which does not lose its worth
But returns to the Giver as life’s spark is snuffed from earth

Sometimes it’s all the sadness that makes it too hard to sing
And prayer feels like a weight of great and wordless offering
Where nothing seems to make much sense to logic of the mind
Where only trust is our Defense because faith is sight-blind

Sometimes it's all the gladness as we pause to count the ways
That love never forsakes us but fills thankful hearts with praise
That in spite of the madness and the sadness of this life
The greatest of these, love, makes hope’s fount of gladness run rife

© Janet Martin

 In this world you will have trouble. 
But take heart! I have overcome the world."
John 16:33


Lemon-Cranberry Tea Biscuits

READY IN: 30mins
YIELD: 10 biscuits

DIRECTIONS

  • Put first 5 ingredients in bowl.
  • Stir thoroughly
  • Cut in butter until crumbly.
  • add lemon zest and cranberries
  • Pour in milk.
  • Stir quickly to combine.
  • Dough should be soft.
  • Turn out on lightly floured surface.
  • Knead gently 8-10 times.
  • Roll or pat 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick or half the thickness you want the baked product to be.
  • Cut with small round cookie cutter.
  • Place on greased cookie sheet close together for soft sides or apart for crisp sides.
  • Bake in 450 degrees oven for 12 to 15 minutes.
  • Brushing biscuits with milk before baking will produce a pretty brown top.
  • Makes 10.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

A Boy Without a Dad



It’s hard to be a boy without a dad
The other fellows, without second thought
Say ‘my dad did this’ or ‘that’s what my dad said’
And suddenly I miss my dad an awful lot

It’s hard to be a lad without a dad
There’s things a mother simply cannot do
And oh, sometimes I simply wish I had
A dad that I could brag and boast of too

It’s hard to be a boy without a dad
Mothers are great but they can’t seem to see
The need to do those things that make us glad
Like dads, who also once were little boys like me

Dollars and cents are not enough to buy
The one thing that I dearly wish I had
My mother hugs me; I try hard not to cry
But it’s hard to be a boy without a dad

© Janet Martin

Friday, August 26, 2011

Sweet Sorrow


I remember watching you…
…and Dad
I would study your faces
And I thought you were sad

Now I understand a little
Of what I perceived as sorrow
How swiftly this moment
Reaches for tomorrow

How soon the sun slips
From summer’s sky
Touching my lips
With a slow, sweet sigh

…and sometimes when they ask me
Why I am sad
I recall watching you
…and I don't feel so bad

Janet~


Sunday, December 5, 2010

It Must Be Christmas....


Children’s laughter fills the air
Hearts beat lighter as we hear
Baby hugs his teddy bear
Oh it must be Christmas
Candle glow and firelight
Decorations twinkling bright
What a perfect silent night
Oh it must be Christmas……again

Snowflakes dancing to the earth
Heralding a Savior’s birth
Baby Jesus songs are heard
Oh, it must be Christmas
Memories of seasons past
Glow upon the fire-place
Reflecting in our eyes and face
Oh, it must be Christmas again

Candy-canes and ginger-bread
Poinsettia blooming, brilliant red
Tuck away that silent dread
Oh, it must be Christmas
Bells and stars and little trees
Cookie cutter memories
Melt like shortbread, one more please
Oh, it must be Christmas again

Hearts beat lighter for awhile
Hope shines brighter in each smile
As we meet our inner child
Oh, it must be Christmas
Season of remembering
Birth of Jesus, baby King
Come and join us as we sing
Oh it must be Christmas….again

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

We were decorating the tree the other night
when suddenly one of my daughters asked me
Mom, are you happy or sad?
'Well', I replied, 'I guess a little of both.
I just cannot believe that it is Christmas ....again.
I honestly feel like we just did this and it
reminds me again of how fast little moments
melt into years and lifetimes!!!

Monday, August 16, 2010

Contradictions.....



I didn’t know lonely could hurt so good
Or feel so soothingly bad
I didn’t know that loving you would
Be the best pain I’ve ever had
And I didn’t know that stars fall from the sky
And land in the glow of a loved ones eye
No I didn’t know loving could hurt me so good
And make me feel happily sad

I didn’t know empty arms could over flow
With an unbearable ache
Or that happiness can grow and grow
But cause a heart to break
And I didn’t know silence could be so loud
Or loneliness greatest in a crowd
No I didn’t know loving could hurt me so
Yet heal each secret ache

I didn’t know lonely until I met you
Or did we really meet?
I didn’t know the joy of bitter brew
Until I tasted sweet
And I didn’t know that misery
Can be such beautiful company
Nor did I know that missing you
Would make my life complete

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Acknowledgement....



I no longer try to forget
My sorrow or my regret
For somehow the older I get
I begin to see
It’s not in the moments of gladness
But in my hours of sadness
The Teacher of love and goodness
Is teaching me

I’ll take those moments of sorrow
Who knows, maybe tomorrow
Someone may need to borrow
A little sympathy
And because of my tumbles
When life teaches and humbles
I can relate as another stumbles
By what life has taught me

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Monday, July 5, 2010

There's Something About Your Picture.....


Tonight as I look at your picture
I am both happy and sad
For I feel an aching echo
As I think of the good times we had
And I smile in spite of my sorrow
I cannot laugh now or cry
What do I call these two mingled?
The grief and the joy in my eye…..
And who knew a little old picture
Could evoke such a powerful pain
The pleasure of re-living a memory
And wishing I could see you again
Oh, there’s something about your picture
It always does that to me
But to return to the day it was taken
Is an impossibility


All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin