Trespasser?

I’m no perpetrator
I’ve never trespassed
On anyone’s field of clover
After all
‘No trespassing’ signs
Were not intended for
The wayfaring lover
Don’t call me a villain
Or call on
The long arm of the law
For how can you judge
An act you never saw….
And if you did not see
You cannot prove
Anything…
So don’t call me
A lawbreaker
Caught trespassing…
I am simply
A wanderer in love…
With bridges, fields and freedom
Star-brushed sky, moonlit hills
Oh, have you seen them?
I am no trespasser
For none can own the night
The field of grass
Or lay claim to moonlight
I will not trespass
I simply heed
The restless call
A thirsting greed
To watch the night fall
From the top of this hill
Or beneath this bridge
I intend no ill
But this wind-tossed ridge
Called my name tonight
Where I knew you were waiting….
And I was right

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Strange Tug-of-war

It’s a strange tug-of-war
I’m in it alone
Letting go…
And holding on

Some days my heart
Won’t listen to my head
Torn by what I see
And time has said
It stops for no one
This I know
But I’m holding on
While I’m letting go

Another year
Is simply a page
A smile, a tear
On history’s stage
Time, you are neither foe
Nor a friend
I must try letting go
While I’m holding on

Looking ahead to tomorrow
Holding on to the past
Letting go of my sorrow
But not too fast
I’d never return
If given the chance
Yet intensely I yearn
For yesterday’s dance


It’s a crazy tug-of-war
I’m in it alone
Letting go…
And holding on

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

If Only I Had Known

Oh my dear, if only I had known…
I would have held you closer
Whispered sweeter
I would have closed my eyes
And imprinted our last moment
On my heart forever
I would have danced a little longer
And softened my tone
When the tug of life was stronger
Oh, if only I had known….

Oh my dear if only I had known
I would have smiled more
And scolded less
I would have loved more fiercely
And done everything possible
To add to your happiness
There is no comfort
On the shoulder of a stone
I would have loved you better
If only I had known………..

So today I will hold closer
Whisper sweeter
I will close my eyes
And love deeper
There’s no way of knowing
When our last chance is gone
And we are left weeping
Oh, if only I had known
I could have loved you better
If only I had known

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

By Candlelight

In somnolent whispers the daylight dies
As the moon paints her halo across the skies
Days end, nights dawn are synchronized
As two hearts beating in unison…..
I gaze at a new spheroid created
Darkness with hope syncopated
I love this gloom that once I hated
Before the candlelight gently shone…..
In eyes with golden flecks of love
Dimming the shade of infinity above
Soft mirrored glow, but it is enough
As it pierces the shroud of night
Where our secret points of view
Are melded in an amber hue
A circle of light around me and you
For I love you best by candle-light

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

I Need You....

I need you….
The light in my eye
The dance in my step
The half-breathed sigh
The soft-smiled lip

I need you….
I need your arms
To embrace the stars
To walk on the moon
Or dance on mars

I need you…
The trace of your finger-tips
The beat of your heart
The brush of your lips
When the day is dark…


I need you….
My morning light
My evening grey
My tomorrow
And my yesterday

I need you…..
Like a blanket of warmth
Or a sip of sweet tea
I need you….
…so that I can be me

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Irony

I used to wish …….
I’d meet someone like you
I didn’t know that heaven hid
In eyes of blue
I didn’t know that syllables
Could be intoxicating
Or poems and promises could be
Grounds for love and hating
I used to wish for silences
Comfortingly profound
Where warmth and beauty spread its cloak
In shadows on the ground
I used to wish for islands in the sun
I used to wish and now the dream has come
This day of days
Should be my gladdest day
But now that you’ve come
I wish you’d stayed away

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Mere Existence

Shall we cower forever in a shadow?
Afraid to fly
Or stand inside a darkened window
Gazing at the sky
Shall we live without a dream?
And never dance
Or die and never live because
We took no chance……

If I stay in the darkness
What’s the use?
I can’t soar in a dungeon
Turn me loose
If I have laughed
I’ll shed no bitter tear
Missing you will be a cross
I’ll gladly bear

Today we live,
Tomorrow we may die
Sip gladly from love’s chalice
Dance and fly
Tremble in the arms
Of life’s embrace
Lest we should live and die
Without a trace

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Oblivion.....

In tattered fragments moonlight splays
In puddles on the grass
The smell of jasmine on the breeze
Taunts us as we pass
The sultry sky with turquoise sigh
Wraps her garb of splendor
On rain-drenched field and wooded hill
And heart-beat warm and tender

In the bliss of summer’s kiss
Shattered hopes are mended
Sorrow’s dread it’s tear has shed
And her dark night has ended
The strumming chords of astral lords
Herald a new horizon
Beneath a sky where you and I
Revel in sweet oblivion

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Yesterday.....

There are things in life that I have held
Never meant for me
Yet I've found a warmth within them
Like a soothing cup of tea
So in spite of disappointment
As it softly fades away
I smile in calm contentment
In the joy of yesterday

I don’t believe in coincidence
There’s no such thing as chance
I believe there is a reason
For every dance I dance
And if I turn to find, alas
That you have slipped away
I’ll dance with you upon the grass
In some sweet yesterday

I wouldn’t trade the tears and pain
For pleasures living-room
It takes the sunshine and the rain
To make a garden bloom
Though petals fall like crimson tears
As roses fade away
Their scent drifts ‘cross forgotten years
And my sweet yesterday

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

If You Can......

I know that we can do it
You and I
It’s in the rise and fall
We learn to fly
Love is not a bridge to nowhere
Though some days so it may seem
Oceans have been conquered
By the power of a dream
I know I’m just a woman
You are just a man
But if we stand together
I can do it….
….if you can

Miles are simply numbers
On a chart
They don’t apply to matters
Of the heart
Our love may be a kaleidoscope
A blend of joy and pain
Some days it seems our only hope
Is dancing in the rain
I can feel your heart-beat
Across the timeless span
And I know in its comfort
I can do it….
….if you can

I can take the rising
And the fall
In your arms I know
It’s worth it all
To know you and to love you
Has been life’s sweetest sorrow
And like the sky above you
I will still be here tomorrow
Darling, let me touch you
Let me hold your hand
Across the miles I feel you
Oh, I can do it…..
….if you can

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Maxwell and I

He wakes me up each morning
Much to my delight
He knows exactly what I need
And how to do it right
I’m a little sleepy
Until I feel his touch
His warmth flows into, through me
I love him oh, so much
Maxwell, you’re a darling
I keep you in a can
And see you every morning
To kiss your face of tan
Your deep and robust passion
Stirs me to the core
And I know that I cannot
Live without you anymore
You don’t have to worry
No one can take your place
I sip you and inhale you
With a smile upon my face
Maxwell, you’re a darling
I love your coat of blue
And in the early morning
No one else will do
Maxwell, you’re a keeper
Perfection in a can
I wonder what would happen
IF YOU WERE A MAN

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Broken Resolve

I wasn’t going to
I really wasn’t going to
Write anything tonight
But what you said
Stuck in my head
And I couldn’t forget it quite
Nor could I resist…
Oh, what if I missed
One grand opportunity
To tell you again
With paper and pen
How much you mean to me
Yes, I know my voice
Is not my first choice
And I know it drives you mad
When I don’t simply shout
But instead, spell it out
Then again, my dear aren’t you glad?
For with ink and pen
Again and again
You can read it like a love letter
And at the end of the day
Oh wouldn’t you say
That is a whole lot better?

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Golden Thread

Seems like there’s a piece of you
In every little thing I do
Like a tender golden thread
Woven where my footprints tread
In the memory of your sigh
In the twinkle of your eye
In the aqua-velva blue
I can sense a piece of you….

I can hear the soft wind moan
But I do not feel alone
As I turn to look, instead
For a wisp of golden thread
Where forgotten shadows lie
Lingering whispers in the sky
Through its dim and misty hue
I can sense a piece of you

Like a pleasant melody
Drifting on an endless sea
I can hear our favorite tune
Hummed by waves and stars and moon
How I love the joy they shed
Like a tender, golden thread
We are never far apart
Golden thread within my heart

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Best of All

Let us wrap our love around us like a blanket
Within its warmth the two of us stay dry
Keeping out the rain and driving tempest
Until the raging torrent passes by
Life with constant change flows all around us
But there’s one change that I will never fear
The strongest ties in life have gently bound us
And keep on growing stronger every year
For love is not an hour or a season
Its passion and its joy is not contained
It does not follow any rhyme or reason
And my love for you can’t be explained
But I just know I feel a whole lot better
When we are wrapped within its heavenly shawl
It warms me like a poem or love-letter
And I love that feeling best of all

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Commiseration......

Even the man in the moon sheds a tear
And even the starlight sighs
When I start wishing that you were here
I know that the night wind cries
For lonesome is merely a state of mind
It cannot tear you apart
Like the anguish and sorrow left behind
In the depths of a broken heart

Even the man in the moon sheds a tear
The stars know nothing of love
But they listen as I talk to them, my dear
In silent sympathy from above






All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Tethered....

Tethered…. it seems I am some days
To the land of toil and duty
When in my dreams I would fly away
Through the mist and rainbows and beauty
Where rolling blue hills are not fantasy
And the heart of this girl were wild and free
But I am a servant of soil and dust
And cannot succumb to my wanderlust…..

Tethered….. it seems I am to demands
That some day shall slumber as I
What good is the labor of these two hands?
Will I simply work then die?
Nay, I say nay, may it never be
For who will live my dreams for me?
Or fly on its fair translucent wing
Will it die in the field like a wasted thing?

Tethered….. Perhaps if I let myself be
I would become a sad slave
But what good is work? It is vanity
As it rests with me in my grave
If there’s nothing new under the sun
And all that I do has already been done
Then pray oh tell me, tell me why
Can I not spread my wings and fly?



All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Chance of a Lifetime

I pause with my foot on the threshold
For I have been given the chance
To return to the very beginning
Where love was a lingering glance
But if I should choose to step over
Then I can never return
To the step on which now I hover
No matter how deeply I yearn

Here is a chance of a lifetime
To fix all my ‘should have done’s’
I can go to the beginning
And live out the lessons I’ve learned
Then why do I doubtfully ponder
A decision so easy to make?
Could it be that I sadly wonder
If I’d simply repeat each mistake?

I pause with my foot on the threshold
For now I know what I will do
I’ll simply go on as usual
We’ve come so far, me and you
We’ve learned about things like forgiveness
How love will endure if we bend
And I’d like to think we have learned, dear
How to be true til the end

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

This Is The Season......

When the night calmly falls as it did tonight
In a gradual fading of amber-gold light
I hear a whisper of warmth from above
Ah, this is the season of summer and love

Here in the hush of a tender deep-blue
When the west sky-line blush dons night’s darker hue
Here I am happy and sweetly content
In the season of summer and love’s misty scent

Softly and silently stars re-appear
Drawing the borders of heaven so near
While peace like a banner descends from above
Ah, this is the season of summer and love

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

It is officially SUMMER!!!!

WHOOPEE!!!!

Don't hold It Against Me....

Don’t hold it against me
Those things I should tell you
But somehow I never do
It seems that my memory
Remembers to tell me
Too late what I should have told you
And it is quite frustrating
When I’m contemplating
What is the correct thing to say
I think of the right words
But it really does no good
For by then you are miles away
So don’t hold it against me
When you frown at my silence
I’m better with paper and pen
If you give me an hour
I’ll write you a poem
I may think of the right words then

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

To Re-live a Memory

We cannot go back and do it again
It just wouldn’t be the same
For we cannot re-live a memory
Though many have tried in vain
The first time is what made it special
Now no imitation will do
For no one can re-live a memory
And still have it feel brand new
We cannot re-write the chapter
And live like it’s never been done
We would simply be foolish actors
Recreating a moment that’s gone

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Collections....

I like to collect things
Little things preferred
I store them in a secret vault
Each time my heart is stirred
The little twinkle in your eye
As you softly reflect
The little half-breath of a sigh
Are some things that I collect

The little whisper in my ear
The little ‘I love you’
The little baby’s tender kiss
Make my collection too
Little dandelion bouquet
Little children’s laughter
Little poem on my birthday
Are treasured ever-after

Little foot-prints in the sand
Little tears of sorrow
And the warmth of little hands
Such strength from them I borrow
Yes, I like to collect things
Little things preferred
For I find in the little things
The heart most deeply stirred

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

No More.....

No more can I stroll at night all alone
Or relish its solitude
No more can I wander the fields on my own
Where even the wind is subdued
I can't climb alone, the wind-swept hill
Or watch the moon creep over the sill
Of a stark and distant horizon line
No more, since you’ve touched this heart of mine

Wherever I go, in the cool of the dusk
As the mist settles into the dell
I catch the faint luring whisper of musk
To remind me of a sad farewell
Wherever I go and whatever I do
There it is, the soft warm scent of you
I can still stroll at night like I did before
In the pale moonlight, but I’m alone no more

I see you in the face of slumbering blooms
I hear the soft breeze sigh your name
I pause in the door of a thousand rooms
But everywhere it still is the same
In the glance of the stars, or celestial deep blue
In song of the dark there’s a piece of you
No more silent nights to tear me apart
For I hear your name in each beat of my heart




All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

If Only You Knew....

I can say ‘I love you’ a hundred times tis true
But sometimes I wonder, oh if only you knew…
Those three little words cannot tell you the whole
Of the way that you move me, both body and soul
They don’t tell of the moments where stars burned silver-blue
In the shiver and torment; oh, if only you knew…..
When I look across the room; when I catch your glance
And know what you’re thinking before you’ve had the chance
To whisper it to me; when the world lies asleep
And we laugh at the memory of the secrets we keep….
When I say ‘I love you’ does it speak to you
Of the bridges we’ve crossed and the storms we’ve been through?
Does ‘I love you’ portray the agony
I feel when you are so far from me?
Sometimes I wonder what you would do
If you could hear what I’m saying when I say ‘I love you’
The bridge spans silent waters clear blue
And there’s no way to tell you; oh if only you knew….

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Dance.....

Slow motion, don’t let go
Oh you know I love you so
Life’s a slow dance ‘cross a floor
Where we can’t start over anymore….
Can I have this dance with you?
There’s no way of knowing
When our dance is through
So let’s dance, take a chance
Through caution to the wind
And dance……….

We can’t choose the music
Yes dear I know
Sometimes it’s a two-step
Sometimes soft and slow
Hold me close dear
Time’s not on our side
We cannot dance
When the music has died
So let’s take a chance
And dance……

Don’t be afraid, dear
I won’t let you go
Life’s a dance, love
I guess we both know
The music is sweeter
In each others arms
When life’s winds are cold
Love’s dance keeps us warm
So take my hand, take a chance
And dance………

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Secrets.....

What whispered he within your ear
What secret did he tell?
What made that soft laugh-line appear
Where his near shadow fell
What makes your eyes sparkle so blue
And dance with silent laughter
Would I feel better if I knew?
Or worse, forever after…..

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Drifters

While all the world laid fast asleep
Beneath a purple awning
And midnight clouds like silver sheep
Wait softly for the dawning
No one saw us as we crept
Beneath the wind-tossed willow
While common folk and sages slept
We chose a greener pillow
Where starry woods in summer bloom
Were the sole eyes to see
Two drifters ‘neath a June full moon
And wordless poetry

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Those Days......

When we were young we danced across the stones
When we were young we really didn’t have a care
But I guess we know, those days are gone
With only traces of their being here and there

When we were young; untouched by life’s deeper shade
Propelled by the power of a dream and a song
Unhindered by practicality in the plans we made
Living in the present when we were young…..

But those days are gone, oh they sure go fast
Yet a few vital lessons I’ve learned
I will live in the present and not in the past
All too soon these days will be gone

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Do You Know?

I know, I’m not always as tender as I should be
I know sometimes you don’t understand me
Life is not always our dreams come true
But do you know, I’ll always love you?

Do you know when the skies are dark with thunder
When our horizons are blurred and we wonder
Why the landscape is fraught with tears and strife
Do you know I’ll love you for all of my life?

I know we cannot have all that we desire
I know it’s not easy to walk through the fire
But I know we can do it, come now, and dry your tear
Do you know that I’ll love you forever, my dear?

Do you know I could never stop loving you?
You are a part of everything I do
Do you know, oh my dear, do you know
Without a doubt, I love you so?

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Royalty......

Oh my darling, I guess you know
There are not too many places I’ve been
But in spite of this fact, of one thing I can boast
I’ve been made to feel like a queen
My palace is humble, yes, this is true
Perhaps rough and tumble with a cob-web or two
But here I am happy and here I have seen
What it is like to feel like a queen……

No flowing garments of satin and silk
I wear no tiara or crown
No wine on my tray, but there’s coffee or milk
Carried proudly by a princess half-grown
No team of white horses to heed my command
No chauffeur or carriage, no ball-room so grand
But I’ve danced a slow-dance or two in blue jeans
With reckless abandon unfitting for queens

Here in this palace we laugh and we cry
Secure as the world turns colder
Come here my darling; let me look in your eye
Let me rest my head on your shoulder
You are my crown, my jewel, my treasure
My prince, my love, my greatest pleasure
For here in your arms I know that I’ve seen
What it is like to feel like a queen

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Cravings......

I crave the new moon in the spring
The sullen midnight sky
The moaning breezes as they sing
A solemn lullaby
I crave the misty summer breath
Of one a.m. in June
The greenest greens which wrap the earth
Beneath a yellow moon
I crave the sparkle of the night
Upon the garden’s slumber
I crave the amber firelight
‘Neath stars to vast to number
I crave the red arm of the fall
The thickened sigh of longing
In maple carpets musty shawl
Spread out beneath its awning
I crave a midnight walk with you
Across the moon-lit meadows
I crave a silent, hill-side view
Enhanced by charcoal shadows
But in my cravings big or small
When all is done and said
Dawn comes quickly, spring or fall
So I must go to bed

All rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Wanting.....

Wind and moon on the ocean crest
Faint light croons in the slumbering west
This is the hour I love the best
With music warm and gentle
Wind-tossed willow silhouette
Mossy pillow ‘neath my head
Listening to a night quartet
Your arm a lovely lintel

As the starlight falls like snow
In silver flecks ebbed to and fro
Reflecting in your eyes soft glow
A deep and earnest haunting
Reverberates without a word
As gravity of earth is stirred
Time and reason become blurred
In songs of grief and wanting

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

But I Must Go.........

I’m thankful for the dance we’ve had
And all the joys you’ve shown me
But I must go, please don’t be sad
For you can never own me
I’ll share with you a little while
The hillside where we wandered
Beneath a gentle azure smile
A blissful hour squandered

I’m thankful for each hand I’ve held
In summers pleasant journey
How sweet the blossoms that we smelled
Their memory tastes like honey
But I can never quite stand still
There’s too much life to hone me
None can be held against their will
So you can never own me

A vagabond, the poet’s heart
A restless lonesome drifter
He’ll share with you a little part
A smile, a bit of laughter
But then upon a winsome breeze
A call that he must answer
Thus the poet’s heart will be…….
A solitary dancer

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Little Girls.....

Braids are bouncing as they race
To their favorite hiding place
Down the dusty lane they run
Hand in hand beneath the sun
Isn’t it a glorious world?
It’s great to be a little girl

Butterflies and fantasy
Flip-flop feet so fancy-free
Living happy carefree hours
In a world of smiles and flowers
Pure and priceless, precious pearls
In the form of little girls

Sunbeams dancing on their way
Laughter trickling as they play
Endless chatter, boundless dreams
Where the winsome fairy gleams
What a sad and dreary world
Were it not for little girls

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

A Long Farewell

Hold me close then let me go
Your parting words so quickly tell
Oh my dear, I think you know
I do not like a long farewell

The columbine and apple tree
Lay heavy with the scent of June
When you are so far from me
I will hear you in their tune

See the daisies on the hill
Silent witness to these hours
Suddenly I feel a chill
Where we danced among the flowers

Darling, leave me, darling stay
Without you I’m but a shell
Hold me close, no, go away
I do not like a long farewell

Keep the soft blue memory
Where our tears and starlight fell
Leave me now or never leave
I do not like a long farewell

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Back-drop......

Draw the sun beneath the earth
And dim its sallow shining
Sprinkle heavens velvet girth
With a star-studded lining
Turn down the glow of western sky
And mute its flaming tresses
Breathe a tender lullaby
In midnight-blue caresses

Let the night bird with its song
Serenade the hours
Where vibrant shades of emerald green
And myriads of flowers
Don the sullen charcoal blush
That deepest twilight renders
Beneath a grey and purple brush
The whole of earth surrenders

Whilst I in wordless reverie
Behold the transformation
Creeping in from sea to sea
In somber adulation
I join the vespers silent song
And gaze in awestruck wonder
At the back-drop of a dawn
Awaiting over yonder

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Daddy's Home

I smile as I see you pull into the drive
They rush out to greet you, eight years old and five
With your five o’clock shadow to prickle their cheeks
Reaching to hug you midst giggles and shrieks
The scent of grime and sweat doesn’t matter
You lose yourself in their innocent chatter
Gone for now are the small plans you nurtured
A cold drink, a shower, a relaxing supper
For the very best hour of the day has come
When you hear your children shout “Daddy’s home”

Suddenly the weariness fades from your brow
As young tender arms remind you somehow
That there is a reason for all that you do
Blonde hair, pink cheeks and eyes of blue
Kisses as soft as a summer rain
Remind you that you have not lived in vain
And what could be sweeter as you pull into the drive
Than the unbridled welcome of eight and five
For the very best hour of their day has come
As they wrap you with love and shout “Daddy’s home”

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Inquisitive.....

What lies beneath your brawny skin?
What rushes through your soul?
What stirs your heart so deep within
My dear, what makes you whole?
What are your thoughts you never tell?
What is your deepest fear?
Darling, by now you know me well
Oh, won’t you tell me dear?
The mystery, the restless gleam
Tell me from whence they come
Are they the traces of a dream
That never found a home
And in that distant far-off gaze
And in that half-breathed sigh
And in that sorrow on your face
The shadow in your eye
Is there a dream you cannot name?
A song you’ve never sung?
An ember that has lost its flame
When you were still so young?
Is there a hunger still unfed
A yearning still to fly
Is there a life that waits un-lived?
As hours hasten by?
What lies beneath your soft warm sigh?
Or in your silent musing
Who do you see with half-shut eye?
What comfort are you choosing?
I’d like to think that I would know
If you should choose to tell
I know you know I love you so
For you know me too well

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Faded Rose

Tenderly I gaze upon
Its petals limp and faded
Once a vibrant, ruby bloom
It’s withered now and jaded
Where has all her beauty gone?
The glory of her splendor
The petal where the dew-drop shone
When love was new and tender
Beneath the sun and wind and rain
She offered all her beauty
Withstood the tests of grief and pain
To love beyond all duty
But now she folds her petals wan
To rest where new life grows
And tenderly I gaze upon
The sad and faded rose

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Solitude

You tip-toed across my mind today
In your soft and subtle style
I posed a well-versed soliloquy
I think I saw you smile
Then before I could touch your hand
Or beckon you to stay
You disappeared into the sand
Without a word to say
The waves lap on the timeless shore
The tides still ebb and flow
But I can’t see you anymore
My dear, I miss you so

All rights Reserved
Janet Martin

March of Time

Tonight, before my eyes half-shut
Twixt day and twilight shade
Across the glimmering field of time
There marched a strange parade
As echoes of a laughing child
And voices from my past
Drifted from the grey-blue cloud
In lengthened shadows cast

Where mother calls ‘it’s time for bed’
And children cry ‘oh, no’
And father kindly clears his throat
But we knew it meant ‘go’
And I could hear the night-birds call
As day to rest is laid
When suddenly I feel I’m in
This black and white parade

I hear the echo in my voice
As I say ‘time for bed’
And children still reply ‘oh no’
While mother nods her head
In the dusk the night-bird calls
And history is made
While I am caught a mother-child
Within this strange parade

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

The Bearer of Love

The bearer of good news knows the joy of its thrill
The bearer of sorrow knows tears
But the bearer of love knows the depth of them both
In its highs and lows through the years
For love is the bearer of sunshine’s sweet kiss
The laughter of blooms in the spring
But in its good measure I would be remiss
Not to speak of the pain it can bring
For the deeper the comfort and pleasure of love
The deeper the anguish it holds
The deeper the root the deeper the tug
As its leaves turn from green to gold

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Anonymous......

I saw in the bloom of a half-kissed day
The flicker of you drifting ‘cross my way
I felt you shiver in the cool of the air
The brush of your hand in my morning prayer
I turned to touch you in the mist of grey
But you had softly slipped away

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

I Love You Because.......

I love you because I yearn for the aching
The thought of you puts in my chest
I love you because in the chances I’m taking
I’ve tasted the best of the best
I love you because when I’m famished and lonely
You fulfill my desire
I love you because, my dear you’re the only
One who can truly inspire

I love you because in the glimmer of midnight
When the entire world is asleep
I can re-live and I can delight
In all of the memories we keep
I love you because in my sadness and sorrow
I feel your comforting touch
And I can go on and face my tomorrow
Because I love you so much

I love you because, as the trees drop their garments
And another year passes by
It will be filled with our special moments
Each whisper, each touch and each sigh
I love you because you have made my life sweeter
Than I ever dreamed it could be
I love you my darling forever and ever
Simply because you love me

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Awakening......

Many have stirred the heart of this girl
Many have heard her laughter
Many a memory like priceless pearl
Hangs from the dim-lit rafter
Many have danced in retrospect
Across the brimming pages
As she fondly recollects
A thousand silent stages

Many have held her quavering hand
And softly urged her forward
While many others helped her stand
When life’s wind pushed her backward
And many have touched in some dear way
A mile upon her journey
Painting on her canvas grey
Another tender memory


Many a smile has graced her lips
And many a prayer has lifted
Beyond the blue moon as it dips
Beneath the shadows drifted
For many have touched the heart of this girl
But only you, my darling
Drew back the curtain to a world
Where I awoke, a woman

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Pervasion....

In the pale and softening sky
In the willow lullaby
In the green field bathed with dew
I think of you

In the scent of every flower
In the breathless midnight hour
In my silent, solemn rue
I think of you

In the tears that softly glisten
In each echo as I listen
In a vault of endless blue
I think of you

In each love-stained memory
In each wave upon the sea
In the sun-set’s fading hue
I think of you

As I look up to the moon
As I hear love’s mournful tune
As I wish upon a star
There you are

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

A Better Me

When you look at me with that light in your eyes
The color of love and summer-blue skies
I’m caught in your gaze and suddenly
You make me want to be
A better me…..

Fame holds no candle to contentment like this
Fortune is vain and so often remiss
In your eyes I’ve seen truth as it shines tenderly
And you make me want to be
A better me…….

What fairer gift could my heart desire
Than to rest in the light of an azure fire
Or sail away on this endless sea
Oh, you make me want to be
A better me…..

A better woman in all that I do
A better soul-mate as I love you
I contemplate what it is that you see
And you make me want to be
A better me

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Second Cup of Coffee

I love those special mornings when we need a second cup
Because you and I decided that we would stay up
Long after the clock had struck one a.m.
And the world lay dormant beneath heaven’s hem
As you and I strolled on the earth’s silver grasses
Immune to each ticking minute that passes
While heaven dipped low in delicate bliss
With iridescent glow of dawn’s tender kiss
We watched as the coral sun came up
And smiled as we reached for the second cup

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Complete.....

A life is never quite complete
Until a heart has skipped a beat
And you have felt the moment where
Time stops….suspended in mid-air
And like a dandelion seed
You drift away without a need
Into the endless blue above
Within the tender arms of love

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Love Poem

When the touch of your lips has cooled on my skin….I love you
When you’re a million miles away again….I love you
When the fields where we danced have lost their glow
And the hills of chance are covered in snow…..I love you
When it’s raining outside at one a.m…..I love you
When tear-drops are a bitter gem…….I love you
When all the books in all the world
Fail to capture my thoughts I hold….I love you
When you’re a hundred poems away….I love you
When you forget the words I say….I love you
I love your hands, your lips, your eyes
In them I fall through weightless skies…and I love you
When silence replaces our softest laughter…I love you
In the middle, before and after…..I love you
When each sigh is breathed in vain
And I desire this pleasures pain….I love you
When all the roses’ petals fade…I love you
When we relinquish plans we’ve made….I love you
When passions dreams lie in the dust
And it seems all we have is trust….I love you
When you breathe against my ear
Or you’re a half a world from here…..I love you
Morning, noon or in the night….I love you
When your eyes have lost their light….I love you
Without beginning and without end….I love you
Where time is neither foe or friend….I love you
In ever liquid amber breath….I love you
Forever and ever, in life or death…..I love you

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

The Other Girl.....

I cannot compete with her
And I don’t really want to
I know she is far more beautiful
And younger
I don’t begrudge you
Or your time spent together
I do see the sparkle in your eye
When you watch her
But I am no longer a girl
I’ve out-grown polka-dot dresses
And curls….
She still has both
And that’s okay
I don’t envy her
When you speak
Your endearing sentiments
To her
Or when she is the recipient
Of your affection
After all…
She is your daughter

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin