The Brook

In the crook of the arm
Beneath the hill
Where cool mist rests
Serene and still
Like a silver sea
In a silent dell
A mystery……
No, I know it well
Beneath its veil
The small murmurs
Of a silver trail
In a thousand summers
By a brook
Where bare feet splashed
And minnows flitted
And hours laughed
In the palm
Of out-stretched hand
Where minutes trickled
Like golden sand
Upon a porch
Of withered grass
Where now I watch.
As memories pass

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Janet Martin

I Wonder.....

Did the mourning dove
Who rose before the dawn
To croon her song of love
Know that you were gone?

Is it dew or tears
Glistening on the vine
Where the first light appears…
…and are they yours or mine?

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Janet Martin

I'm Glad you're Home...

I’m so glad you’re home
The place is not the same when you’re not here
It’s like part of me is missing
I’ve grown quite attached to you, my dear
Why is it when you’re gone I feel so empty
Or like a little piece of sun has gone away
It seems to me like someone’s always leaving
Will we all be home again some day?

The blue above me suddenly is bluer
The sun a little warmer on my back
When you’re gone I feel a silent hunger
When you’re home there’s nothing that I lack
It’s comforting to know you understand me
Without me needing to explain
When you’re gone the house is big and empty
When you’re home love is complete again

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Janet Martin

This summer it seem to me
There’s always someone coming home…….or leaving

Like We Never Loved At All....

It’s getting dark a little earlier each evening
The camp-fire smoke is lingering in the air
It’s summertime for now but I am grieving
The cooler breezes running through my hair
Still, I revel in the her flickering halo
Creating memories that I can recall
Years from now…..with pangs of muted sorrow
For it’s almost like we never loved at all

The hazy yellow moon softly caresses
The hills beyond the wheat fields amber sea
What is hiding in those rolling tresses?
And why are distant blue hills taunting me
I stare up at the clouds, my silent witness
Suddenly I feel so very small
A single tear-drop breaks the summer quietness
For it’s almost like we never loved at all

The warm breath of July is pure enchantment
Mingled with the sighing walnut tree
Patriarch of my small summer heaven
Whispering in the misty midnight breeze
They say somewhere summer lasts forever
They say New York is lovely in the fall
I say, summer, cry me a river
For it’s almost like we never loved at all

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Janet Martin

Who knew????? Sitting with a few
Very wonderful twelve-year old kids
At a summer night camp-fire, feeling abundantly blessed
Could evoke such melancholy inspiration!!!
There is no rhyme or reason to the laws of poetry!!!

What We Really Mean....

We talk about your work and how it’s going
We talk about the kids and what they need
We even talk about the weather
We talk about the cold, the rain, the heat
We talk about your favorite sport in season
About the little troubles of the day
But darling is there really any reason
We don’t say the things we need to say

I love you, I’m sorry
Forgive me for the thoughtless words I say
I need you, don’t worry
I will love you till my dying day

You tell me that your mothers feeling poorly
We should go and visit her real soon
I tell you that my garden tillers broken
If I could I’d hurl it at the moon
The window in the basement will need changing
Before another winter closes in
I think the furniture needs re-arranging……
Why don’t we utter what we really mean?

I love you, yes it’s true
I was wrong to say the words I said
I’m sorry, yes, me too
Why don’t we take a moon-light walk instead?

I’m lonely…yes, me too
Do you love me like you used to do?

.....I think we need a new table-cloth
Do you prefer the color green or blue?

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Janet Martin

....for three days we talked
about everything except
what we really wanted to say.....

(Anna Karenina)...paraphrased

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

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Janet Martin

Vacation

I need a little vacation
A little time to play
And I don’t need an explanation
I’m going to play hooky today

The garden is a haven
I love the scent of soil
But I am tired of slavin’
In all it’s endless toil

I need a little breather
A little one on one
I love today’s kind of weather
In the grand old sun

Oh, I need a little vacation
Dust and dirty dishes
May be a house-wife’s heaven
But they can’t satisfy my wishes

I’ll be back in an hour
Or… make it two or three
The sun has mysterious power
When I’m in her company

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Janet Martin

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

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Janet Martin

Do You?

Do you hover on the surface of your day?
Or do you delve right in?
Do you tip-toe fearfully
Waiting on its fringe?
Or do you live it to the full
Do you laugh and cry
Love and hate, whisper, yell
Or does it just pass by
Do you hug, kiss, weep, let go
Do you work and play
Sometimes quickly, sometimes slow
Oh, and do you pray?
Do you try and do you stumble
Do you celebrate your joy?
Do you sing or do you grumble
Do you build or just destroy
Do you hurt and do you love
Do you bear love’s silent sorrow?
Do you see the stars above?
Or are your thoughts upon tomorrow
Do you take a faith-leap chance?
Or hide in some dark shadow
Oh, and tell me, do you dance
In summer’s fleeting meadow
Do you live or just exist?
Each day a span of hours…
Tell me, have you been kissed
And do you smell the flowers?

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Janet Martin

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

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Janet Martin