Showing posts with label content. Show all posts
Showing posts with label content. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

That Which We Have...




 When I'm holding this 6-day old lad I wish for nothing more:)

Often, though glad with what we have
We might still pause to wish a bit
And then forget that which we have
And thus neglect to cherish it

Time’s hand fills both cradle and grave
Now is the slave to memory
Lord, remind us that which we have
Will soon fade to what used to be

© Janet Martin

Friday, March 25, 2011

The Quest



Some long for fame and fortune
Their hour in the sun
Forgetting in a moment
It could all be gone
Some long for the arms of
Anyone but who they’ve got
Forgetting that true love
Is not a game of ‘love me not’

Some long for a destination
Far across the sea
Their life an imitation
Of whom they wish to be
And some long for anything
It seems but what they have
Living in a foolish dream
Instead of in their life

But I’ve got what I want
I’m glad to be me
I wouldn’t wish me on anyone else
So its better this way, you see
And I’ve got what I want
Because when God gave me you
Well, I guess He must have known
That no one else would do

Happiness is not a city
Or a place where we arrive
Yet, is it not a pity
Some search for it all of their life
Happiness is the journey
Contentment in God’s great plan
Happiness needs no money
And is free to anyone

Let's not waste our moments in longing
For things beyond our reach
We all have moments of wanting
Or the ache of an unfulfilled wish
But oh what a pity to miss it
The moment we briefly clasp
Because we were foolishly wishing
For something beyond our grasp

Janet~

Friday, February 25, 2011

Vegetable Soup


Wash, peel, chop, slice
Measure, feel, pour, dice
This is my dance
Choreographed for me
Suiting my hands
Color and harmony
Of the purest kind
A gentle ballet
For the eye and the mind
Carrots orange, turnips yellow
Savory, warm, aroma mellow
Potatoes, cabbage, peppers, beans
White, purple, reds, greens
Here is nourishment for the soul
Season, cook, place into bowl
Supper time, rally the troops
M-m-m-m good, love served as vegetable soup

Janet~

I love making soup.
There is a pure kind of therapy
In chopping, dicing, slicing….
And preparing a good, wholesome supper.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Other People's 'Ordinaries'


She sighs as she talks about her crazy week
At the office on the sixth floor
Where her window faces the harbor-front
And she's got her name on the door
She keeps saying she would quit if she could
I stare with envy at her perfect manicure
My nails bear the marks of dish-water and splitting wood
The brief-case she carries and the bag on her shoulder
Amplifies my domesticity; I suddenly feel much older
As I picture her day through the eyes of romance
I know I would not trade if given the chance
Yet, I can’t help but wonder how it would be
To be in by seven and done at three
To sport name-brand bags instead of tea-towels on my arm
But she looks at me as if my life were a charm
Sandwiches, I could make them in my sleep
I’ve grown quite accustomed to my laundry heap
Every morning at eight-o-clock
I wave as the bus pulls away from the walk
Wondering how old my youngest child will be
Before she’s ‘too old’ to wave to me
'House-wife'she says, visualizing a painting in the shade
A life of cookies and lemonade
And maybe it is, here and there
A smile, a kiss, a tear and a prayer
Her polished appearance makes me seem quite dull
She says she's decided to enroll
In a couple new classes and maybe then
She can work her way out of the craziness she's in
My mental check-list of what needs to be done
I suddenly decide is not worth mentioning
With a click of her heels she hurries away……
‘I have no idea how she feels’ I hear myself say…..
H-m-m-m… I think I’ll go outside, hike to the woods for a while
The housework can wait……I hum……I smile

Janet~

Why do we tend to perceive other people’s ‘ordinaries’
With a degree of something akin to romance………
Enjoy the ‘ordinary’ you’re in
Kick up your feet AND DANCE!!!!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Four Best Words......


Tender little soft pink cheeks
Blue eyes and warm arms
Every night I am
The lucky victim of her charms
Girly-giggles, bed-time wiggles
I say, ‘time to sleep’
Bed-time prayers and teddy-bears
Good-night dear, sweet dreams

As I turn to leave her room
She whispers ‘I love you’
And I can say these four best words
“I love you too”
In order to say these four words
Someone must first say three
And I am so very blessed
To have them said to me

Janet~

I recalled this poem today
which I posted on frontporch a year ago.....

Every morning as they head out the door
with their 'good-bye mom, I love you'
I am reminded of HOW BLESSED I am
to be able to reply with
THE FOUR BEST WORDS IN THE WORLD!!!!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Clarity......


For all the things that life may send
That we can never understand
There are some things so dear and good
That cannot be misunderstood
Warm arms,
I love you, Mom
Supper was great
It's good to be home
Will you read to me?
Can I hug you good-night?
Thank-you for everything
It's gonna be alright
You look nice
In that shade of blue
Thank-you, darling
I love you too

Janet~

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

The Best Part.....


So maybe the landscape is not verdant green
And the sky is a little gray
Happiness lies not in what may be seen
Or things acquired along the way
Happiness lies in the hands we hold
The best part of every day

I’ll never be rich, but that is not my goal
Little is much in love
Wealth cannot bring contentment to a soul
Or music to the stars above
The best part of life is seen in the glow
Of eyes that say ‘you are enough’

We will never have all we may wish for, tis true
But they can not snatch what lives in the heart
No one can steal my love for you
Touch its ending or where it may start
Then to know I am loved in the same way too
Is most surely life’s very best part

Janet~

Friday, November 12, 2010

Greener Pastures.....


For all the things I’d love to be
And all the things I know I’m not
Teach me to live thankfully
Appreciating what I’ve got

For all the greener pastures fair
There’s a truth that must be told
We all breathe this thing called air
And every day we’re growing old

Dirt is dirt no matter where
God has planted us to grow
The grass is not much greener there
A field is just a field, you know

Janet~

Friday, October 1, 2010

Things I Have Observed


It’s not in the consuming
But the hunger
That keeps us alive
It’s not in failure
But in admitting defeat
That we lose our drive
It’s not in arriving
But in the quest
That brings delight
It’s not in perfection
But simply giving our best
That brings sleep at night

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Thursday, July 29, 2010

It's Easier Now


It’s easier now than it used to be
To be satisfied with simplicity
I know when it comes to endless ‘stuff’
There will never, ever be enough
For it can never satisfy
The hunger in a longing eye

I’m satisfied with moments in the sun
With rest when all the busy day is done
I prefer the sparkle in your eye
To that of diamonds for which dreamers sigh
I long for just a few well chosen words
That leaves earth trembling and heart stirred

Material wealth may bring a fleeting charm
I prefer the comfort of your arm
‘Round my shoulder at the close of day
As we watch the red sun slip away
And you turn to look at me.......
I know I have everything I need

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Lemon-flavored Night


Suddenly
The half-moon lemon
Sweetens on the tip of my tongue
Tangy, free
Like summer’s heaven
A sparkling mystic love song
The flaws
In noon day’s sun
Are much less vivid now
As dawn
And dusk become one
In muted moonlight’s glow
I sip
The bloom-scented sigh
Of midnights laughing breeze
Exotic
Nectar from the sky
Pouring through the trees
Lemon-
Flavored summer
From a white cup unrestrained
Heaven
I lift my hands up
To catch the warm summer rain

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Home....



When you come home I’ll have the coffee waiting
Right beside your favorite chair
I’ll watch you as you read the paper
And you will run your fingers through my hair
Oh won’t it be nice to be together
Darling, sometimes it seems too long
But I can feel a change in the weather
And I can hear the echo of our song
Drifting to me ‘cross the turquoise ocean
Trickling to me from a starry dome
Miles can never bar the raw emotion
Just a few more days and you’ll be home
Then we'll sit on our favorite porch together
Discuss the little nothings of the day
Darling, I feel a change in the weather
Home is just a little dream away


All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Content


When the shadow deepens beneath your eyes
And many a season has swept the skies
Will we still have a reason, you and me?
To desire each others company

When you sit by the fire with a book in your lap
And it slips to the floor as you nod and nap
When the sorrows of life etch their kiss on your brow
Will you still love your wife as you love me now?

Will we sit in the sunset’s tranquility?
You with your pipe and me with my tea
Viewing sweet hours from a glowing past
As the evening’s soft, coral bowers are cast

Will you still let me softly trace
The tender love-lines on your face
Here on the porch will you sit with me
Content in each others company

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Close to Me....


We count in miles
The distance that separates
But I’ve discovered something new
Those miles are really
Quite meaning less
I’m never that far from you
Because if I were
I would not feel you
Like an invisible
Sheet
Wrapped around my shoulders
In the house or on the
Street
I hear your tender laughter
Melt across my silent
Hour
Like a soft and secret love song
Or a perfect purple
Flower
So in spite of asphalt highway
That is measured by a mile
I prefer to miss you my way
In the shadow of your smile
As I reach out to touch you
In a quiet
Memory
I realize that you
Are never
Very far from
Me



All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Sunday, May 2, 2010

My 'Druthers'


I’druther you were painfully honest with me
And my feelings would sting for a while
Than to walk with you down a fern-lined street
As you lie to me through your smile
I’druther be a little homely
Than a cheap and painted fraud
Who wears a mask to fool people
Forgetting I can never fool God
I’ruther be poor and happy
Learning to be content
Than rich with a pocket of fool’s gold
That brings no joy when it’s spent
I’druther have one friend who is honest
Than a hundred which seem to lack
The ability to be faithful
As they stab me in the back
I’druther have a house full of laughter
With furniture battered and scarred
Than live in a palace that’s silent
With every façade unmarred
I’druther have my arms full of children
Than trophies and accolades
And I like a ten-minute vacation
Beneath the willow’s shade
I’druther drive my ugly mini-van
With a happy family
Than be alone with a perfect tan
In a red Lamborghini
I’druther have a little trouble
Here on my acre of sod
Than live in a perfect bubble
Where I would never need God

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin