Winter Snow and Sunshine - Greenough Park, Missoula, Montana

Winter officially - at last! - and there is plenty of poetic odes to this season.

Click here to immerse in some popular winter poetry, including the full text of Douglas Florian's "Winter Eyes", 
and here to appreciate Janet Martin's thoughtful verse for now or any time of year.

"Look at winter
With winter eyes
As smoke curls from rooftops
To clear cobalt skies.

Breathe in winter
Past winter nose:
The sweet scent of black birch
Where velvet moss grows.
Walk through winter
With winter feet
On crackling ice
Or sloshy wet sleet....."
 - from Winter Eyes by Douglas Florian

Everyday Miracles - Missoula, Montana

“There are two ways you can live your life:
as though nothing is a miracle,
OR
as though everything is a miracle.”

(Omigosh -  thank you, Janet Martin, for painting another great word image:
 "...The fervor of [today's] live-laugh-love / Unfurling from God’s kiss."
Read Janet's full poem in the preceding text link - or here, if not obvious.)

(& many thanks to a dedicated child sponsor for this quote, included in Comments at this moving & motivating blog post from Compassion International.)

Wildish Sky - Missoula, Montana

A mixture of sunshine and storm in today's lunchtime sky instructs to enjoy the present sunbeams - and prepare for more snow! 
The promise of sunshine on my face (er, what you could see of it behind the scarf pulled high and hat tugged low) drew me out  into the c-c-c-crisp, brrrr-isk air. 
Once out under God's great big sky, I was reminded of this lovely poem snippet from the the delightful mind of Janet Martin:

“…or this; weeping of wind 
Drifting lost; aimlessly

Through winter’s stricken woodlot
Where a leaf-song used to be

Already then I knew

When I was but a child
Something unwritten beckoned
In the air, driving me wild” 

-From Before the Poems... by Janet Martin 

Read and ruminate on the entire poem here at Another Porch Poetry Blog.

Out To Pasture Afternoon - Near Philipsburg, Montana

"...September's door is wide open  

September's floor is petal-strewn

September's window is unframed

September is time's afternoon..."

- Janet Martin, from September's Living-room

Not quite "petal-strewn" in this view (however, being a horse corral, definitely strewn with something ELSE...), but the other lines worked so well for this picture that I insist you indulge me.

Get in full September swing with a read of the full poem here at Janet's blog site, Another Porch...A Poetry Blog.

Wintry Quiet Things 1 - Missoula, Montana

"...We are quiet now

The deeds we’ve rendered to this day

Are like small seeds in the ground

Eventually they’ll have their say..."

- from Quiet by Janet Martin

Stop by Another Porch...A Poetry Blog for more lovely verse - perfect with your daily cuppa!

Gently Gleaming - Garnet Ghost Town, Montana

"...Some memories are gray
Some gently gleam
An undying ray
To the impossible dream
The unalterable bridge
To yesterday
A smile, tear or sigh
Then it fades away….
A ripple, a rhyme
A small wave in the sea
A moment in time….
….then a memory"

-from "Then A Memory..." by Janet Martin

Enjoy some of Janet's sibling summer memories in her Friday post here.

Journey Onward - Missoula, Montana

"It is good we cannot see

How far or fair life’s path will be

For then we would not see the sun

Or chase that daydream silver-spun ..." 
- from "Living In The Moment" by Janet Martin

Stop by Another Porch... A Poetry Blog to take in the perpetual loveliness of Janet's writing.

Betwixt - Missoula, Montana

Along my drive home just after 9:00 yesterday evening, the sunset show was well underway, its golden primal donna already resting on the western mountain range. Surprise, surprise! - Summer has committed to its waning hours, closing up shop long before the 10 pm final curtain of end-of-June evenings. 
These golden grasses leaning toward autumn speak their own reminder, echoing this verse by Janet Martin: 

"Alas, alas, our days are as grass
Our wisdom a grain of sand
Alas, alas, the summers pass
As I, like a mute yet stand
Watching time, like phantom infantry
March beyond the hills
Beyond the moon, beyond the sea
Beyond the starry sills..."

Ponder the full poem, 'A Dandelion Seed' here, and Janet's current poetic musings at Another Porch...A Poetry Blog.

After The Rain - Lily Of The Valley - Potomac, Montana

"...Whisper of wishes and worries subside

Soft is the raiment of midnight’s rain-tide

Seeping its sigh to the core of the soul..." 

- from "Autumn Morning After Midnight Rain..." by Janet Martin

Read all the lush lines of this summer rain poem here.

April Island - Missoula, Montana

"Our daydreams rush ahead of feet to picnic’s by the creek...

Of daisy-dappled ditches, wave-washed beaches, grass terrains..." - From 'April' by Janet Martin

(Always a delight to stop by Another Porch!)

Open Sky - Missoula, Montana

"...But moments do not pause or linger

Caught in a vortex of wide-open sky..." 

- from "Of July's Fading Fringes" by Janet Martin

Read the full text of this and other evocative verse at Another Porch...A Poetry Blog.

Geared Down - Missoula, Montana

If you're gearing up for a romantic Valentine's Day (this Saturday, people), check out the luscious love poetry Janet's posted this week at Another Porch. 

A small sample to whet your appetite: 

"Surge of something sacred and sweet

Stuns her; spills summer-slow, sigh-soft

Whispers wake wellsprings where want wafts

Wild within to a boom-boom beat..."

-  from "Ah, Love" by Janet Martin

Just like chocolate, you'll want more. 

Click here to keep feeding.