Something

Something tells me that not everything
Is quite as it appears
Something inside keeps whispering
Something for only my ears
And I can feel something stirring the air
Intangible mystery
Something is always waiting somewhere
I wonder what it could be

Something is urging me to rise
As daylight creeps over the brink
Of earth, and brushes star-dusted skies
With whispers of coral and pink
Something quivers deep in my soul
Surging as the wave on the sea
Something over which I have no control
I wonder what it could be

Something inspires me as I get up
To welcome this brand new day
Something replenishes my empty cup
While night hours meter away
Something draws me from yesterday’s pain
To welcome this measure of sod
Something beckons me to do it again
Something…or Someone…maybe God?

Janet~


Sometimes something somewhere somehow...
...urges me to write:))

Somehow

Somehow as the green creeps over the hill
And brightens the weary meadow
So you come to me when the dawn is still
Out of the misty shadow
Somehow it seems distance is but a wee breath
In realms of thought and desire
Last night together we wandered the earth
Beneath the budded spire

Somehow in wishing and waiting and wanting
Seasons of missing you pass
But here in the dawn-light, I hear the taunting
Of moments sweep over the grass
Somehow time insists on flowing too quickly
Somehow in the blue folding mist
Suddenly I feel your whispering near me
In the essence of almost kissed

Somehow things shattered and melded again
Become a stronger measure
I sense within me the broken remains
In shards of aching treasure
Somehow you come to me from out of the blue
As light fingers the line in the distance
In murmurs of daylight and missing you
I offer no resistance

J~

Sometimes...

Sometimes in the middle of the dark
I see you
Sometimes in the quietest silence
I hear you
Sometimes in the emptiest room
I feel you
Sometimes, when my heart is full
I need you

J~

Somewhere

Somewhere a prince and princess are wed
Somewhere disaster victims bury their dead
Somewhere we hear joy in the wedding bell
Somewhere it tolls with sorrow’s knell

Somewhere love lights the lover’s eyes
Somewhere a lonely lover cries
Somewhere there is feasting, celebration and mirth
While somewhere loved ones are laid in the earth

There is a time for everything under the sun
Rejoicing and weeping thread the same dawn
…somewhere a bride slips off her ring
Somewhere a princess weds a king

Janet~

Last night on CNN I saw the images of disaster in Alabama
...this morning I turned it on to see images of celebration and royalty.
I was struck by the contrast and it reminded me of Eccl. 3

Far Too Far

The air has deepened to a moonless blue
Heavy with night and thoughts of you
Reminding with merciless clarity
You are far too far from me

The breeze nudges; its unsympathetic chill
Lies motionless yet creeps next to me until
I shiver beneath its icy touch
I never did like the cold very much

There is an amplified stillness after wind and rain
Its passion spent on field and lane
The air has deepened to a moonless blue
And I am awake; far too far from you

J~

Midnight

The remnants of today are fading away
I pause on the fringe of tomorrow
Watching my moment become yesterday
Where I am unable to borrow
The length or breadth or height of it
As it becomes a shadow
For time flows on in spite of it
Across life’s sprawling meadow

The laughter or the tears I’ve wept
Now slumber side by side
Where all my other years are kept
In love’s soft eventide
And all the worries of daylight
Are nothing more than air
Wafting through the still, dark night
On wings of hope and prayer

It takes with it the deeds I’ve wrought
They cannot be undone
Gone too, each little thought I’ve thought
And battles, lost or won
Midnight seeps in, pushing today
Into time’s surging stream
Oh, it may steal the hours away
But cannot steal my dream

Janet~

About Us

There are so many things I know nothing about
And I won’t pretend that I do
It would be pointless to write them out
For everyone to view
But it’s all right, I’m not complaining
Because I know a thing or two
About the things that are really important
…I know about me and you

I know how the world drifts past our window
When everyone is asleep
And I know that counting kisses
Are better than counting sheep
I know how you evoke within me
A new kind of poetry
And you know exactly how to provoke me
To near insanity

Darling, I don’t know the ‘what’ or the ‘why’
But oh, I know the ‘who’
Scholars may study their books a mile high
I prefer me and you
I know what you whisper without a word
And what you say to me
With your suggestive eyes half-closed
In quiet intimacy

And I know how the willow tree
Sings our favorite lullaby
How the moonlight gets to me
Reflected in your eye
There’s something about the color blue
That makes me melt like the snow
Oh darling, I know about me and you
And that’s all I need to know

J~

Not in the Mood

No, no, don’t hold me close
I don’t want to cry
I’m just not in the mood
For saying good-bye
And I’m not ready yet
To hold your memory
Oh, don’t hold me so close
No, don’t let go of me

The rain lashes across our faces
Disguising the flow of tears
Of all the times and places
Does it need to be now and here?
I could spend forever
Spending one more day with you
Don’t say good-bye, not now or ever
For I’ll never be in the mood

Janet~

Momentary Suspension

The tenure of your steady gaze
Leaves me fumbling; uncertain
Caught within its lucent haze
It probes beneath the curtain
Of my transparent skin; I tremble
But not in fear or shame
But simply because now you know
How glad I am you came

I breathe, but very slightly
Lest I disrupt this trance
I touch, but soft and lightly
The shimmer of your glance
We stand apart like strangers
Rehearsing every breath
No sound marring this moment
But the trembling of the earth


J~

Verge

Clamorous moments push against my side
Tugging me from my yearning
Forcing me to see what’s in front of me
For there is no returning
To the crying shadow of faded chance
Or the blue meadow of yesterday’s dance

My tears for you wrap me in a pale, silk scarf
I run my mind over your form
While the wind screams and moans and wails
I am caught in the eye of the storm
I touch your mouth with dissolute sorrow
We will worry about tomorrow, tomorrow

Rain-drops slide into puddles of glass
Dawn creases the hem-line of day
As light splinters the cobalt grasp
Of a dark arm, stiff and gray
I know today is coming on fast
And I turn to you; on the verge of the past

Slow release is an agonizing eternity
As I sense you pulling away
The warmth of your whisper slipping from me
Into the vast yesterday
A stiff breeze rises with the sun
I reach for you; but the storm is gone

J~

Endless Change

Endless change, nearly imperceptible
But silently bold
I have depleted the joy of being invincible
I’m not quite old
But I yield a little of myself to change
When I must
For I cannot rearrange
The sequence of dust

Endless change, but I am unwilling to trade
Passionate longing
To be quietly patient and staid
Every morning
Change is as subtle as a falling mist
In the soft-dusk hour
It does no good, but still I resist
It’s resolute power

Janet~

Fingertips

The rain plays a muted song tonight
Gray fingertips pummeling out the light
As wind-tattered fragments of my day
Waver momentarily and then slip away

The silence is warm and easy with you
Thunder rolls in the distance, the lightning white-blue
Illuminates stark images, rigid and black
My finger-tips brush across your back

The night settles around us in a long, out-drawn sigh
Reaching the perimeters of the sky
Fingertips whisper, plead, implore
Waves gather somewhere on a forgotten shore

J~

Trying on my Longing

I wish you fell as smoothly from me
As the teardrop from my eye
But I cannot wipe away memories
With words like ‘we’ll write’ or ‘good-bye’

We pack things in boxes only to find
That somewhere along the way
They have left their importance behind
In a shroud of yesterday

Longing slips over my head, then my shoulders
Like a dark blue-velvet dress
Suddenly the night is broader and colder
I shiver beneath its caress

But I cannot touch in its aching mist
That thing I am longing for
I am not even sure what it is
Does it even exist anymore?

The fragrance of you is a wistful presence
It wraps me in a soft blue-gray
Tingeing the night with iridescence
My gown slowly falls away

J~

Today my son discovered that love hurts
As he watched two of his best buddies leave
For their new home almost 2000 miles away…

Tonight I held him as he cried himself to sleep,
My tears mingling with his…yes, love hurts…

Its strange, how we pack chapters of a life into boxes…
Signifying an end…
Then we unpack them…for a new beginning

Yesterday's Moments

Yesterday the moments we held spoke of years
Gleaming with possibilities
Tonight as I left you I shed quiet tears
Cancer is a cruel disease

Somewhere deep within my pulse hits rewind
In a slow-motion reverie
As yesterdays which are now decades behind
Are drawn from my memory

And for a moment I do not see
The toque on your once dark-haired head
The man in a bathrobe in front of me
Appears as a boy instead

Running in games on a summer front lawn
Where childhood seemed to last forever
And even though we heard your mother call
You stayed until the game was over

And I long to whisper in the still of the air
Oh, the game is not over tonight
But all I can do is whisper a prayer
That God gives you courage to fight

Yesterday the moments we held spoke of years
Tonight years are held in moments
We speak of our faith and not of fears
For in fear there is nothing but torment

Janet~

Of What I Have Learned

I have learned but a little
Yet this I know
Never hold on too tightly
For we must let go
And never decide
That you will cling
With all your might
To an earthly thing
For things are temporal
And will slip away
I’ve learned there is potential
For joy in each day
I've learned that wisdom
Is not found in books
And too often we judge
On the basis of looks
And I have learned
That true beauty lies
Where it cannot be spurned
With naked eyes
That forbidden pleasure
Lasts but a moment
And the flip-side of its measure
Is a silent torment
That there is no tear shed
Which will not dry
And not all tears are bled
From out of the eye
I have learned that
Sometimes we weep
In our heart of hearts
When the hurt is deep
That a broken heart hurts
But we will not die
And it is a gift of worth
To be able to cry
I’ve learned that for man
We can never do enough
If we serve the hand
That is not tempered by love
I’ve learned to love
But not to own
And two are better
Than being alone
I’ve learned just a little
In life's ebb and flow
And I’m somewhere in the middle
Of what I ought to know
I have learned
That I can cope
If God is my
True living Hope


J~

Glimpse of Paradise

This is no mental luxury
No, this is a feast for the eyes
As the Keeper of infinity
Sheds upon the skies
His art for all mankind to see
A glimpse of paradise


Janet~

Tonight the run was extended
Simply because of the spectacular sunset!
For awhile the clouds appeared to be
Like distant blue mountains…

Saddened

I am saddened by many things
Betrayal and the sense of loss it brings
I’m saddened as I see the final wisp of today
Silently slip into yesterday
Without you

I am saddened by the melody
Sweeping from the half-bud tree
It seems to whisper of things undone
And moments too quickly gone
Without you

I am saddened that we are lovers at heart
But strangers together; too far apart
I am saddened, thinking of whence we came
As I hear the silence breathe your name
Without you

Janet~

The Knowing

Somehow the knowing holds me
When everything is blue and cold
I remember the words you told me
As tenderly they enfold
The moments of uncertainty
I simply turn my head
To hear your muffled heart-beat
And the whispered words you said,
‘I love you’

Just as the heart-beat in the earth
Is never really still
As we behold its grand re-birth
Claim every field and hill
So too, the pulse of knowing
Gleams softly in my eye
Its quietness bestowing
The echo of your sigh
‘I love you’

J~

Inevitable

Time seems to gain momentum
With each turning of the page
A silent, swinging pendulum
That softly sets a stage
Of what was… and is to come
Ah, this is middle-age
J~

Nothing on my Mind

I have nothing on my mind but desire
To hold your hand
Leaving plebeian woes behind, in the mire
Of the common man
As we melt to the beckoning of wood and rill
What of artless reckoning; we are weak of will
And the call of the wild is an urgent power
We must lie awhile in a field of flowers
And listen to the tune of the willow trees
Hearing the croon of the wayward breeze
As it strums the limbs and the waving grasses
In a chorus of hymns as it softly passes
Man draws a cold and rigid design
Too soon we grow old as we walk its line
Of law and demand, of toil and duty
Barred from a land of rampant beauty
Today we rebel and follow the lead
Of distant hill; as we willingly heed
Its softer command to rest on the arm
Of a meadowland where the sun is warm
With the breath of spring upon our hair
The scent of the earth permeating the air
Arousing a lust for life and love
From the placid dust to the heavens above
With nothing to do but yield to the powers
Of green and blue in a field of wild flowers
Oh darling, I have nothing on my mind but desire
To hold your hand; beneath leafy spire
And the golden kiss of the swaying willow
Where life is bliss and the world is our pillow

Janet~

I apologize for the unexpected 'break'
due to computer woes.
All is well that ends well;)

Drawing Lessons

I trace the blue of your silhouette
Against the moody sky
Lest perhaps I might forget
The color of your eye
I run a careful finger
Along each slant and curve
Letting my pencil linger
Where you seem to touch a nerve

I’m taking drawing lessons
Learning a new art
I am my own teacher
And my canvas is my heart

I scan the tender curvatures
Of brow and cheek and lip
Then turn my head a little
Lest a sudden tear might slip
And blur or smudge the sketching
On a canvas I can’t see
But somehow seems to be etching
Into the heart of me

I’m taking drawing lessons
The result is a mystery
As I run a trembling finger
Across your memory

J~

Disappointment

Disappointment is a cold and cruel knife
Its pain is one we all must sometimes bear
It carves and shapes us as we go through life
But pain can never quench the power of prayer

Feet may trample on the dreams that die
Sorrow bleeds; invisible and red
Disappointed tears may dim the eye
But they cannot keep a prayer from being said

J~

A Little of Me

If you know I love carefully and completely
You might know me…a little
If you know I remember bitter-sweetly
You might know me…a little
If you know I do not want pleasure without pain
If you know I love the music of the rain
You might know me…a little

If you know I prefer honesty to good looks
You might know me… a little
If you know I love old letters and old books
You might know me…a little
If you know I’m an ‘all or nothing’ girl
And I do not care for ‘things’ in this world
Then you might know me…a little

If you know I choose coffee, not tea
You might know me…a little
And my ‘heaven’ includes music and poetry
You might know me… a little
If you know I find happiness
In gardens and sunsets and nature’s caress
You might know me…a little

If you know you will never know me completely
You might know me...a little
If you know I speak best through poetry
You might know me...a little
Here you see a small piece of my soul
As I pour out a part, but never the whole
So you might know me...a little
Janet~

The Closing of a Door

This is not just any closing of the door
When it swings shut it will not be like it was before
You come in and walk right through me, but no more
No, this is not just any closing of the door

These are not just any tears I shed
I won’t even try to turn my head
It’s no use, what used to be is dead
No, these are not just any tears I shed

These are not just any words I write
Suddenly my gray is black and white
I tremble at the thought of you tonight
But these are not just any words I write

This is not just any closing of the door
What once was… is no more
We cannot return to what was ‘before’
No, this is not just any closing of the door

Janet~

As I wrote this another door started to evolve.
Below is version #2

The Closing of a Door #2

That will not be just any closing of the door
When it swings shut it will be like never before
We come and go just as we please but then, no more
No, that will not be just any closing of the door

Those will not be just any tears we shed
If we look up, behold the cross and turn our heads
If we wait until judgement hope is dead
No, those will not be just any tears we shed

These are not just any words He writes
There is no gray, all is black and white
We ought to tremble at His power and might
No, these are not just any words He writes

That will not be just any closing of the door
As the elements melt with a mighty roar
And God's wrath on wickedness will pour
No, that will not be just any closing of the door

Janet~

Reminded

It’s too easy to stop noticing
The wealth that we possess
Or take far too for-granted
The hand that we caress
It’s too easy to be blinded
By things we choose to crave
And we need to be reminded
Of the treasure that we have

It’s easy to get caught up
Between yearning and regret
And while we focus on these things
It’s too easy to forget
About the gifts that touch us
Soft, kind and undemanding
Pouring from the heavens
In mercy never-ending

Janet

Little Pieces

Little pieces
Little sighs
Ponderings
And thought
A little wisdom
A little sorrow
A little of
What life has taught
A little magic
A little mystery
A little bitty tear
The wisp of a dream
The hint of a smile
A shadow of yester-year
A little fantasy
A little fact
A little artistry
These woven together
Eventually spawn
A little poetry

Janet~

My Peace

It would be sadly and fearfully
That I would encounter each day
If I was unaware of God, near to me
And if I could never pray

His calm assurance keeps me still
In life’s vast uncertainty
His gentle voice tempers my will
His life-blood sets me free

It would be with disillusionment
That I would face each day
If there were no atonement
And if I could not pray

Janet~

I will never leave you nor forsake you. Hebrews 13:5

Tantrum

She weeps against my windowpane With wild and stormy tear Wailing as the raging wind Screams through the atmosphere The tree, her naked victim She tosses at her will I long to reach and still them Or shield them from her chill With merciless insistence She pounds against the door In spite of her persistence Her begging I ignore As all the more she battles In violent, furious rage I turn on the tea-kettle And slowly turn a page Like children throw a tantrum She too must have her fling A turbulent transition Before it can be spring She whips the ragged pine tree And storms across the grass Yet, for her venting misery I know, this too shall pass Janet~ We have a WILD one on our hands tonight! Seems she’s throwing everything at us she can possibly contrive… …wind, sleet, snow, rain, frozen rain!

Epitome of a Fool

Sometimes we return
To our mistakes
Simply to beautify them
To brush out the obscene edges
Too proud to see them
For what they really are…

Sometimes we return
To repeat them
Certain
That the out-come will be
Different… this time
Too proud to admit
That we were wrong

Sometimes we return
Because we want to repeat them
To justify our weakness with cause
The cause being weakness
And stubborn pride
Unwilling to admit
That we were wrong

Janet~

Realizations #2

It hurts sometimes
To look into your eyes
And realize
That soon you will be a man
But what a tender pain to bear
For I know God has a plan
For you, my dear
And I cannot deny it
As your head brushes my chin
It won’t be long before I wonder
Where my little boy has gone
And as I pause to ponder
The brevity of it all
Perhaps a little tear will fall
But oh, what a tender tear to shed
For though we cannot know what lies ahead
We will have each other
And God
I will always be your mother
And no matter where you trod
When I cannot be there
God will reach you with my prayer
His light is never dim
And we can always talk to Him

Janet~

Of Little Nothings

Darling, do you love me enough
To speak of the little ordinaries of your day?
You see… the thing about love
Is that love can love half a world away
If I asked ‘how are you truly?’
Tell me then, what would you say?
Oh my dear, won’t you come to me?
I’ve got all night, I’ve got all day

Darling, I would love to listen
Until the moon falls ‘neath the sea
Until the vales and hillsides glisten
With a dewy canopy
I would listen if you told me
Of the sorrow in your eye
I would like if you would hold me
While we laugh and love and cry

Darling, do you love me enough
To tell me of the little nothings in your heart?
You see… the thing about love
Is, love loves whether we’re together or apart
If I asked ‘how do you love me?’
Tell me then, what would you say?
If I should ask ‘why do you love me?’
Would it take all night…all day?

J~

My Quiet Time

This is my quiet time of day
My time to read and think and pray
While midnight draws its dewy shroud
Where moonlight traces silver cloud
While every little noise is hushed
And harsh outlines are softly brushed
While cares of daylight slip away
Behind a veil of misty gray
While hurried feet slow to a stroll
As midnight’s calm sweeps o’er my soul
While ten-thousand thousand diamonds gleam
Above the beds where children dream
While seekers seek and rovers rove
While weary sleep and lovers love
While some lone dog howls at the moon
And silence strums a wind-stroked tune
I wrap its comfort like a shawl
Around my heart, around my soul
As I read and think and pray
In my quiet time of day

Janet~

Sweet Little Girl

Let me hold your hand a little longer
Lose myself in your sweet smile
Little hands make mothers stronger
Smiles brighten a weary mile

Far too quickly you are stolen
From the carefree childhood mead
Far too quickly dreams are calling
Eagerly their voice you heed

Sweet little girl, you are my sunshine
And your giggles are my song
You’re a treasure, briefly mine
Before life carries you along

Sweet little girl, a breath of heaven
Sent to grace the earth below
What a privilege I’ve been given
Just to love and watch you grow

Janet~

Tonight Victoria and I enjoyed a very special night
out together, just the two of us...
well with approx. 50 other mothers and daughters:))
It was a great evening with the focus being
simply that we are all special creations of God.
While the message was somewhat directed to these girls (ages 10-14:)
I'm sure it was also very much intended as gentle reminders for us moms. We are all special in God's eyes!
Parents, here are a few activities we did tonight that you may like to try with your own sons and daughters.
1. Make a list of things you would like to do together this summer, just the two of you. You should each have at least ten things. (child and parents each creates a list)
2. Write 10 compliments about each other for each other.
3. Draw an outline of a person and pretend its you and write what you like about the way God made you!
4. write up a 'no name calling' pledge and sign it. (You 'Klutz' IS name calling:)
Name calling in any shape or form is hurtful!

After the activities there was FOOD!

I have resolved to do these activities with EACH one of my children.

Wordless Love Song

Oh my love, our song is wafting
From the swaying willow tree
From the cool and bleak horizon
I can hear its melody
A harmony of love and longing
Pouring deep inside of me
Symphony of peace and passion
Like the rolling of the sea

Oh my love, no sweeter music
Ever filled a banquet hall
As the song that’s drifting to me
Where our phantom shadows fall
Far beyond the distant hills, dear
Beyond this moment or this breath
Lies this thing called the unknown, dear
But our music fills the earth

Oh my love, tomorrow’s mystery
Cannot dull the song I hear
In its cadence you are with me
In my smile and in my tear
Oh my love, leave words and sonnets
For the ones who need to know
I prefer the wayward music
Of willow trees and winds that blow

J~

Crazy Love...or Advancing Spring

It’s crazy how you melt me
With that sparkle in your eye
It’s crazy how you undo me
With just a little sigh
And it’s crazy how you come to me
Somehow out of the blue
It’s crazy how you move me
At the thought of touching you
It’s crazy how you touch me
A thousand miles away
It’s crazy how you love me
But I guess love’s just that way

J~

This Time I Would Dance

There are things I long to tell you
If I were given one more chance
And if you asked me, Darling
This time I would dance

Somehow fleeting moments
Recklessly expand
Pushing you too far from me
I cannot reach your hand

We cannot know our fortune
Until it slips away
Darling, I would dance this time
You asked me…yesterday

A thousand yesterdays to me
Are all the same as one
Unattainable history
That cannot be undone

This time I would dance with you
But I know you are gone
Beyond the distant hills of blue
I must dance alone

Janet~

The 'dance' referred to here is life.
Today is a beautiful song...so dance!

The Duel

She tightens stormy fingers
Across the fragile cusp
Where sudden sunshine lingers
In spite of her deep thrust
She cannot quell the softening
Within the golden ray
As lilting songs of beckoning
Spill from her lips of gray

Her pale white brow is bluer now
A hint of glimmering mirth
Splashes on the weary snow
That decks the restless earth
And in her sullen brooding
Her will intensifies
She howls in tunes foreboding
Tears storm-clouds from her eyes

She will not be defeated
Her cold and chilling dread
Is violently repeated
Her fury is not dead
And yet, whilst she unleashes
Wild fury in the air
The southern hills and sashes
Melt beneath her stare

She will not reign forever
The bud upon the limb
Is pressing to the surface
She feels the might of them
The brook, once still and colder
Cannot contain its song
….she humps her stubborn shoulder
She knows it won’t be long…….

…..the day of her departure
Is waiting in the breeze
The scent of passions fervor
Spawns possibilities
Her iridescent haunting
Is waning as she moans
She hears her rival taunting
In quickened undertones

Janet~

Yes, the duel IS on.
I wrote this in February...
not expecting to 're-visit' it:)

There is a reason my closet floors
are piled! three days ago it was flip-flops and sandals.
Now it's back to boots!

Bare

The blue is gone from your eye tonight
A beckoning undertone
Whispers to me in the waning light
As we stand together, alone
The cast-iron sweep of the moody sky
Creases the thickening air
Silently slipping around you and I
Through branches, dripping and bare

Desire and dreaming are luxuries
Borne on the restless wind
Stolen tonight by memories
Held in the ties that bind
Thoughts ache in the misty silence
Crying into the still air
But the only sound in the distance
Are branches, dripping and bare

The blue is gone from your eye tonight
Longing pours into the dark
Reaching to me in the waning light
A hopeful and tortured spark
Miles can exist in mere inches
Walls can suspend in thin air
Both hover; astringent between us
The branches are dripping and bare

Janet~

Leap of Faith

Leap of faith
I’m going to fly
God, I guess
It’s just you and I
Sometime we
Can’t understand
Oh, God please
Hold to my hand

I close my eyes
I cannot see
Through lambent skies
You reach for me
I will not fall
Your arms are there
I hear You call
Me in a prayer

Leap of faith
Teach me to fly
I cannot see
The other side
But one truth
I know for sure
In Your arms
I am secure

Janet~


But those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
They will walk and not be faint. Isa. 40:31

Love's Bliss

A calmness seeps into my mind
And washes over me
Yesterday is far behind
Tomorrow still to be
But in this moment I am in
No one can steal my bliss
It wraps me in Time's gentle grin
And cheers me with its kiss

Yesterday’s regret is past
Tomorrow; merely dreams
And moments slip away too fast
Caught up in phantom streams
Where soon it seal the smile and tear
As tenderly I languish
Within the ebb and flow, my dear
Of ecstasy and anguish

I have but one small moment now
Before it too is history
Melting like fragile April snow
As now unveils its mystery
What is to be must surely be…
I close my eyes a moment
And let time’s kiss wash over me
In tears of joy and torment

J~

My Task-Master

I used to think he ruled me with a tireless, iron fist
I sighed as he withdrew me from the fields of morning mist
And as he spread before my gaze each task that I must do
I plodded to the mundane maze of duty’s endless view

I used to think he stole me from my lesser travelled road
Where daisies nod beneath the sun in nature’s fair abode
Where care was a forgotten thing beneath a sky so blue
As all God’s little creatures sing, with nothing else to do

I used to think that heaven’s brink was clad with moss and fern
Its music was the brook that sang to lands of no return
Would life not be much better here in God’s created beauty?
Without the sad imprisonment behind the walls of duty

But life devoid of duty is a life sad and depraved
For where would be the beauty of a thing we never craved?
And duty comes from having people in our arms to love
Duty is a blessing from a Master up above

Janet

This morning I said I could seriously spend my days
doing nothing but laundry, cooking and cleaning!
Then I remembered who I am doing it for...
yes, my family...and my Master.

Wild and Careless

Wild and careless no longer appeals
Life is a gift, priceless and real
The foolish tragedies of our youth
Lead us tenderly to life’s deeper Truth

One day it seems we open our eyes
And suddenly we realize
The value of this gift bestowed from above
By a Hand of goodness, mercy and love

We no longer covet the plunder of earth
For our eyes have been opened to far greater Worth
One small blink of time before we shall be
Transported to our eternal destiny

If God should reach down from Heaven today
And tap you on the shoulder, what would you say?
Have your eyes been opened; have you bowed your knee?
Or have you chosen to live wild and carelessly?

Janet~

Aren't You Glad?

…we have no more power over our own lives
Than we do in choosing the shade of the skies
Nor can we erase from salvation’s plan
The power of redemption for any man
Though we are masters of greed and spoil
Slaves to the curse of sweat and toil
We cannot touch the perfect sky
As we behold with awe-struck eye
His glory; but a tiny glimpse
Of what a-waits beyond earth’s brink
And aren’t you glad we cannot mar
The canvas graced by moon and star?
And there is none too lost or low
To be washed clean in Calvary’s flow
And that the the Keeper of our souls
Is in perfect, complete control
Aren't you glad?

Janet~

'You'

If I could, well I’d invent a new word
One that’s meant for only me and you
You know how to stir me like no other
There are no words for all the things you do
But I am not some crazy word-inventor
So darling, how about the word ‘you’

‘You’ can never mean a thousand others
For me there’ll never be another ‘you’
‘They’ is meant for all those countless masses
Rushing by with other things to do
But only you can move me with a glance, dear
That is why I choose this small word; you

You make me want to get up in the morning
And do my best in all that I must do
There are just no words to tell you, darling
I wish that I could make one all brand-new
But when I think of what makes me so happy
All that I can think about is ‘you’

So I say things like ‘darling, oh I love you’
And ‘how are you?’ or ‘dear, how was your day?’
‘You sure are a grand sight for sore eyes, love’
‘I would like to kiss you if I may’
‘You’ is the best word that I can think of
When it comes to all I want to say

J~

I love...'you':)

And Then the Dawn~

While longing burns deep in our chest
While lives play out twixt east and west
Mankind looks to higher plains
Where one true Living Hope remains
While this small planet weeps and groans
Beneath the toil of sticks and stones
We shoulder sorrow's heavy load
For it is not a hopeless road
Someday our longing will be gone
As we awake in Heaven's dawn

Janet~

Another gorgeous sunrise this morning~

Almost Perfect~

It would have been a perfect day

Love warmed the garden dull and gray

Joy sang from dark-limbed silhouettes

Where hope spawned buds of ruby red

The sun was warm upon my face

Before it melted in the west

In pools of rapture, glory-sent

I sigh; I am almost content

A lone bird wings its way to rest

The moon hangs low on heavens crest...

...above the silent after-math

As this day wanders down the path

Where all its predecessors lie

Somewhere beneath a phantom sky

Yes, it was almost perfect, dear

My happiness shines in a tear

In folds of blue and gold and rose

Another day draws to a close

As on the still and trembling air

I reach to touch you in a prayer

For all the blue and all the gold

Cannot give me you to hold

Almost perfect; yes, it’s true

Almost perfect, but for you

Janet

My Love for You

Maybe you wonder what’s become of me
I'm not the person I used to be
Maybe I wonder the same thing sometimes
But life is a poet of its own rhythm and rhyme
And one thing is forever true
Darling, I still love you

The sun shines in purest gold from above
But it pales in comparison to my love
As vast as the sky of azure blue
So is the depth of my love for you
Darling, if you could see past my skin
You would see to the love I hold within

Fair-weather friends will ever abound
The circle of life spins around and around
But it cannot alter or furtively steal
The ocean of eternal love that I feel
I hold on to one thing faithful and true
Darling, it is my love for you

J~

Back outside I go to an almost perfect day...

Those Words

I hated what I was saying
Before it was fully spoken
I knew by your wounded expression
Your little heart was broken
But I could not reach to retrieve them
Those words, harshly uttered in haste
All I could do was kiss them
With sorrow, as they ran down your face

Janet~

'children' come in all sizes and ages':)

Words hastily spoken
Leave hearts quickly broken~
J~

Do you see a man who speaks in haste?
There is more hope for a fool than for him. Prov. 29:20

A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold
in settings of silver. Prov. 25:11

Perpetual Sigh

The missing of you is a perpetual sigh
Ribbons of blue where dear memories lie
But I cannot curse its bitter-sweet pang
For it fills with worth the hour in my hand
It teaches me to touch and cherish each moment
Press to my heart its love and its torment
For soon, far too soon its footprint will lie
Somewhere ‘neath the moon in a perpetual sigh

J~

That sigh...
I find myself doing that sometimes.
In two weeks from today our dear friends/neighbors
are moving to Nova Scotia.
I miss them already...

Goodnight, My Love (A Lullaby)

Let the wind sweep from the rain-laden pine
Let the night weep from the bush and the vine
Let the blue shadow fall somewhere afar
Over the meadow beneath the lone star
Before this day vanishes let me hold you tight
And whisper goodnight, my love, and goodnight

Let the lone dreamer then dream if he must
Let the dim twilight then sleep in the dust
Turn down the music and turn up the sky
It seems to sing to me a new lullaby
As your arms wrap around me in the deepening light
You whisper goodnight, my love, and goodnight

Some put their faith in the moon or the earth
Some wait for fortune to measure their worth
But now as I lay me down to sleep
I smile for I know the good Lord will keep
All those I love in His tender sight
As I whisper goodnight my love, and goodnight

Janet~

Tonight was one of those nights…..
As I hugged my children and said goodnight
I felt like the richest person on the face of the earth…..
There are no sweeter words repeated than
‘Goodnight, I love you too.’

Thank-you God~

Beautiful Hurt

The ache of you in me
Is a beautiful hurt
To love you tenderly
Is its own worth

If there was no pain
It could not be love
I would remain
Unable to prove…

…that what I am feeling
Is not merely a-kin
To something appealing
Like affection

I’ll bear it with reverence
This bitter-sweet pain
For to love without suffering
Would be to love in vain

J~

Without Expectation

Do you remember the first time we met?
The summer of summers I will never forget
The sky was so blue when you said ‘hello’
I said ‘how are you’, and then I came to know
There is nothing like the first time

We didn’t have anything to compare it to
You looked at me while I surveyed you
But I wasn’t wondering if you would repeat
The words you said last time, so timid and sweet
Because there’s nothing like the first time

No expectations to which we must adhere
No regrets, broken trust, no wish and no fear
We simply let the wild wind lead the way
And oh, what a day that was, yesterday
Because there’s nothing like the first time

Now we have memories and we have a past
We linger sometimes in the shadow they cast
And we have expectations; that’s the way love is
There is no second first time, with its mystery and bliss
Oh, there’s nothing like the first time

Janet~

Do you know how you know when you're getting old?
When you sit and reminisce:)

Closer

I hold you close to me today
You are not too far away
In my heart I feel you there
As I hold you in a prayer

I hold you close to me today
Love can’t take you far away
In my mind I feel your touch
As thoughts of you fill me with love

I hold you close to me today
In the most intimate way
In the shelter of my heart
We are never far apart

J~