Of Fleeting Melodies

Sheer, phantom oceans surge

Sweeping a blood-red coast

Where joy and grief converge

To shape love’s uttermost

Our nearest, dearest thought

Spills ragged, without skill

And all that we are not

Humbles our stubborn will

I hold you close to me

But even in my clasp

Love’s raw and raging sea

Ushers you from my grasp

…as life’s relentless art

With cool indifference

Shapes and re-shapes the heart

In love’s relinquishments

God, let me never waste

One breath in drudgery

But freely, fully taste

It's fleeting melody

© Janet Martin