What Do Our Children Hear?

I told her I loved her and patted her back
Then said, “Run and play, mom’s got lunches to pack”
But she chattered away whilst I nodded and smiled
With my thoughts and attentions a hundred miles
From the blue-eyed pixie with sleepy-head hair
And her gaze fixed on me as she pulled up a chair……
While I said, ‘sweet-heart please put that away
Mommy’s in a hurry, she’s very busy today’….
…and sweet-heart sighed as she ran to play….
What do our children hear?

I looked at the report card with a thoughtful gaze
As I said, ‘how can we turn these ‘B’s in to ‘A’s?
And oh, I would snatch those words back if I could
Disappointedly he said, ‘the teacher said it’s real good’
And it didn’t really matter that I said ‘well done’
I saw what he heard as I looked at my son
And now I could think of fine words of praise
As I felt a rebuke in his sorrowful gaze
I thought, ‘son, how do I love thee, let me count the ways…’
What do our children hear?

They hear so much more than our words and our phrases
What they hear is reflected in their eyes and their faces
And what we really speak reflects in our walk
There’s so much to hear that requires no talk
God, grant me patience and God make me wise
Teach me how to see through a little child’s eyes
Teach me how to love in all they do
As You love me, let me love them too
So that in everything I say perhaps they’ll hear You…
What do our children hear?

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Janet Martin

Some thoughts I've been mulling over for the past week.....

Lover

Yes, I love to fall into your arms
You are the master of a thousand charms
As your soft kiss breathes against my face
I melt in your passionate embrace
So long I waited, so long I have pined
To be touched by you and now I find
You are better than I dared to think
I feel myself falling over the brink
So I let go…and I fall and I fall
Yes, this is the very best part of all
For your shoulder is fresh and soft and green
You make me feel like a royal queen
For you are irresistible, charming
Your breath flows through me, reviving and warming
A heart that was tired, lonely and cold
Is once again inspired by your whispers of gold
Oh what beauty, ah what a lover
Spring, you come to me when winter is over

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Janet Martin

Take Me Back

Take me back to the silver breeze
Back to the haven beneath the trees
Back to a beckoning horizon-line
Where its whispers stole this heart of mine
As dreams would glisten on every sea
With unseen shorelines of destiny
Take me back

Take me back to a simpler time
Where freedom was a daring climb
In the shady arches of weeping willow
Or a rest beneath on its scented pillow
As moonlight splashed its dapple grey
On grasses of a fairer day
Take me back

Ah, someday I suppose I’ll sigh
With a teardrop shining in my eye
As I recall this precious hour
Forgetting the grey, remembering the flower
And silently then perhaps I’ll say
Take me back to this good old day
Take me back

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Janet Martin

The Color Blue

You ask why I love the color the blue
Indulge me a moment and I will tell you
There’s the velvet navy of a midnight hush
Or the cobalt gleam of a river’s rush
There’s the sparkling azure of a summer sky
Reflected with pleasure in your tender eye
The slate-blue tones of autumn’s kiss
The clear blue moans of summer’s bliss
The gleaming turquoise of the bay
Or misty blue hills far away
The royal blue of twilight’s shroud
The endless hue above the cloud
The sapphire gaze of sweet July
The smoky haze of August sky
It glimmers in the pale moonlight
Or shimmers on a rainy night
Its pale, soft breath will stir the dawn
Its endless hearth the eagle’s throne
Its thousand shades a robe so fine
Is wrapped around this heart of mine

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Janet Martin

Tonight was one of those ‘navy blue’ nights.
I needed to stop and absorb the sky for a few minutes,
But the cold blue air chilled me to the bone!!!!

Against My Will

I’ve tried to gather those memories
Into a distant space
And I have tried not to yearn for
The moments a life can’t replace
I focus on all of the blessings
Daily poured into my hand
As seconds then minutes and hours
Sift through my fingers like sand
I’ve tried not to picture your smile, dear
Or the eyes that melt the soul
And I’ve learned that half a heart,love
Can do the work of a whole
I’ve tried not to hear your whisper
At night when the world is still
I’ve even tried to forget you
But I remember, against my will

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Janet Martin

Sometimes I come across a picture that begs a poem.....
Most often I try to find a picture for the poem,
every so often I see a picture that writes itself:)

This Morning.....

This morning we didn’t see
The blue ocean of mist
Or the pale gold sun
As it softly kissed
And rolled its shroud
Out over the bay
In a silver cloud
O’er foam and fray
We didn’t see the gull
Wafted on a breeze
Or the push and pull
Of the tide on the seas…..

But through the window
Perhaps we heard
A subtle whisper
As softening realms stirred
With a dewy sigh
On soundless wings
From a waking sky
Whilst daylight brings
Its urgent request
To rise; for tis certain
That day is upon us…..
We smile...and draw the curtain

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Janet Martin

Not That Strong Yet

I loved your toes, your wee baby toes
I still remember your button nose
The way your fingers would cling to mine
As I saw the light of heaven shine
I loved the smell of you, fresh from God’s arms
I loved the feel of you, precious and warm
I love all the memories I’ll never forget
Aw, baby slow down, don’t grow up on me yet

I love the memory of your first day of school
You cried and I cried like a sentimental fool
Now you can’t wait for your high-school prom
And I realize I’m still a sentimental old mom
Say, when did you grow taller than me?
How can you really be turning eighteen?
I’m trying to be strong as dreams dance in your head
But I’m not letting go, I’m not that strong yet

I love the way you tell me things
I nod and smile as you spread your wings
Like a mother bird I urge you to fly
But behind my words I just want to cry
I loved your toes, your wee baby toes
Baby, I still love your button nose
We’re still making memories I’ll never forget
But I’m not letting go, I’m not that strong yet

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Janet Martin

My Journey

My journey is not like yours
Nor yours like mine
I have never walked a mile
In your Birkenstocks
Nor have you ever tried
Walking in my heels
But love endures
Not only in the sunshine
Or when heaven smiles
But as grass turns to rocks
And the tears we’ve cried
Flow in rivers of steel
Love endures
Your journey and mine
Have somehow intertwined
And I won’t judge you
If you don’t judge me too
I’ve never carried your load
Or wept your tears
I have not travelled your road
Or lived your years
But love endures
It keeps me from judging you
Or you condemning me
Simply by what the
Naked eye can see
My journey and yours
So different yet the same
The only thing we really own
In this world is our name
….and the Love that endures

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Janet Martin