Quiet.......

The lee is dark and silent now
Even the wind has ceased to blow
The shadows fade into the deep
And all the children are asleep
The quiet reaches to the star
Darling, I wonder where you are………..

Is it quiet where you are too?
Is the sky purple or blue?
Is the silence dark and deep?
I wonder if you are asleep
I pause but there is no reply
Save for the moon up in the sky


J~

I sat on the deck tonight
with a cup of coffee,
the silence broken by
the howl of the dog next door
calling for his owner who is......
no more.

When It Is Silent.....

When it is silent
Then we look upon
The broad backs of
Wiser words
Which we ignored
In the rush of noise

When it is silent
We allow ourselves
Freedom to be honest
About our thoughts of others,
But mostly
Of ourselves

When it is silent
We stop moving,
Parting the tall reeds
We dare to dream
Pushing them with each breath
Beyond our skin

When it is silent
We either live or die
As the night flows on
Past the blooming of ourselves
To spawn
The flowers of tomorrow

Janet~

Get-away......

Take me away from the noise of the highway
Away from the well-beaten track
Allow me to wander the courses of nature
With only the wind at my back
Here in the temple of pine tree and hemlock
Time suddenly stands still
Here let me listen…..to nothing but silence
Drifting over the hill
Take me away from the starkness of duty
Bathed in earth’s comfort and calm
For there’s nothing as sacred as God-given beauty
Played out in nature’s palm

Janet~

Winter's Brook......

Its laughter is cold and silent today
The sparkling ripple is frozen and gray
Her palm, a sleek, powdered wild-life highway
Winding through brush and field
Somber its avenue shrouded and still
No magic or music nature’s palace to fill
Frozen in time against its restless will
But soon her passion will yield
To the kiss of the sun and the sigh of the breeze
To the mellowing zephyrs that whisper and tease
Her laughter echoing river and seas
As she flings aside winter’s shield

Janet~

I returned to the brook while skiing today……….
But there was no chatter or greeting so gay
The chilling hand of winters grip
Had stilled the laughter on her lip…………

Perfect Silence.....

What? Is there no silence on this earth?
For e’en the silence I would find
Is broken by my very breath
Though I have sought with wearied mind
The solace of sweet solitude
Far beyond the plebian crowd
And nearly found it by the wood
But my heart was beating loud
And in the deep dark shadow-land
Still I heard soft vespers moan
Heedless of my minds command
It breathed in muted under-tone
But in the palm of argent field
Glistening in the winter sun
When my pounding heart had stilled
And all the wind had come and gone
I heard; for just one mille-sigh
The sound of not a thing at all
But sunshine, sparkling from the sky
In perfect soundless madrigal

Janet~

The Lover of Night....

The lover of night cannot waste it sleeping
For then who would see where the lone breeze is weeping
Or as earth reaches up and the heavens bend low
And two become one in a silver-blue glow
Who would see stars on the ocean’s crest?
Or Venus, a stellar eye in the west
If the whole world would sleep then no one could tell
Of the dark, trembling leaf as another star fell
Ivory faces on smooth, satin pillows
Can not hear the whisper of moonlight in the willows
Or tell you the color of one a.m.
The deep shade of velvet at midnight’s hem
The lover of night is roused by the sigh
Of an amber-kissed cloudlet drifting by
Through un-curtained window she drinks in the tune
Of spring, summer, autumn and winter-white moon
The lover of night has known the caress
The subtle delight of complete quietness
Entwined in her heartbeat, yet soft on the air
The music of midnight serenades her there
The lover of night is a tormented breed
For it never can quite satisfy her need

Janet~

Star-struck........

Silver pebbles on a vaulted shore
You gleam as clearly as in days of yore
Unaltered by the sands of time
I gaze upon your starry clime
Immeasurable depth, unfathomable sphere
Dazzling sash across each year

Though sudden cloud may heave or sigh
And draw its shroud across your eye
Though sun may rise and dim your light
There you are when it is night
Lambent wonder, celestial Muse
Unconquered splendor; your avenues

Above a landscape silver-brushed
Above the ocean, gleaming, hushed
On fields where once men fought and died
On crosses standing side by side
Timeless beacons on a shore
Where none can tread your jeweled floor

What is man compared to thee?
Orbit to infinity
We may flaunt our greatest boast…….
One grain of sand upon your coast
What is man compared to thee?
A tiny ripple on a sea

Janet Martin

Black and White Night

The silence is amplified tonight
The world is a canvas of black and white
Broken here and there by a pale twinkling light
Dimmed by the falling snow
Alone is such a lonesome word
But the frosty stillness somehow stirred
And magnified that solemn word
Alone, alone, alone


Janet~

The kids will soon be home:)

Actually, after 'lively Friday'
a little bit of 'alone' is...Bliss:)

Serenaded............

Tonight you’ve come to sing to me
A sad and lonesome melody
Not sung by wind or barren limb
Not sung by her nor else by him
The notes that drift across the moon
Bear a melancholy tune
It brings a teardrop to my throat
Yet comforts me within its note
I’ve never heard a song like this
Bittersweet and tender bliss
High, then low the baton falls
In its flow an echo calls
From the faint, far-folded mist
I am serenaded, kissed
As the evening fades away
In a grand, soundless display
Like a phantom symphony
Silence; how you sing to me

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Janet Martin

Be Still.....

Be still
Let the mask of the day
Slip away….

Be still
Let the silence render
Her touch, sad and tender…

Be still…….
On terrestrial wings
Heaven sings….

Be still…….
Justice will have her day
Be still, and pray

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Janet Martin

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

The Best Sound of All

Sh-h-h-h, don’t say a word
Everything that needs saying has already been heard
The wind is sighing in the willow tree
The fields are a misty silver sea
Let’s not mar this scene with mere syllable
Isn’t this silence wonderful?

Sh-h-h-h, I think I just heard the sound
Of night as she spreads her navy shawl down
And suddenly the green tree is a deep charcoal-gray
Come a little closer, you are too far away
Together I’m sure we can hear the night fall
Isn’t this silence the best sound of all?

Sh-h-h-h, oh, what’s that you say?
Can you hold my hand, well of course you may
There’s nothing in the world that is nicer to do
Than sit here and listen to the silence with you
Don’t you agree as the soft shadows fall
This silence is the very best sound of all?

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Janet Martin

Commiseration......

Even the man in the moon sheds a tear
And even the starlight sighs
When I start wishing that you were here
I know that the night wind cries
For lonesome is merely a state of mind
It cannot tear you apart
Like the anguish and sorrow left behind
In the depths of a broken heart

Even the man in the moon sheds a tear
The stars know nothing of love
But they listen as I talk to them, my dear
In silent sympathy from above






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Janet Martin

Don't hold It Against Me....

Don’t hold it against me
Those things I should tell you
But somehow I never do
It seems that my memory
Remembers to tell me
Too late what I should have told you
And it is quite frustrating
When I’m contemplating
What is the correct thing to say
I think of the right words
But it really does no good
For by then you are miles away
So don’t hold it against me
When you frown at my silence
I’m better with paper and pen
If you give me an hour
I’ll write you a poem
I may think of the right words then

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Janet Martin