Friday, December 1, 2017
Of Fellow and Fallen Soldiers
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
For Those Who Died With the Fallen
A friend sent me this last night. He reminded us to remember those with scars we cannot see...
Some soldiers die on the battlefield, though still they walk away
The living dead, plagued by a hell of perpetual 'replay'
So while we remember the buried, pray we do not forget
Those who died with the fallen, but are among us yet
Janet
Friday, November 9, 2012
When He is Gone...#4
And mothers and fathers
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Of Flesh and Blood Compassion (edited re-post)
Monday, June 11, 2012
Flesh and Blood Compassion
My tears and prayers are for civilian victims as well.
Hello Megan. First, sorry for my english, I'm French. I often come to your blog because I like so much your tags and stationery (thank you so much for sharing them with us), and tonight I happened to see that post for Memorial Day. Yesterday, 4 french soldiers died in Afghanistan (I hope your poem is also for other countries fighting for freedom and not only the US). My brother, who is in the military, will be there in a few weeks, so thank you for that post. Thank you for sharing this also.
Louise
Thank you for sharing with us all ~ and impacting lives around the world...
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Sometimes as the dark sky leans over the world...
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Would that I Could...
Loving Him (re-post)
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
The Living Dead
Amelia has prayed and pleaded and cried
For somehow the Charlie she knew has died
She holds him close when the dark thunder rolls
There are no words with power to console
Or wipe the scenes from his tormented mind
For where Charlie goes, she remains behind…
The shades are drawn to subdue the daylight
But they cannot shade the mind from his plight
The sun is warm with scent of pinewood
He shivers, inhaling the stench of blood
Lassie waits, eager for Charlie to play
Her master is home, it’s a perfect day
He lifts his arm; suddenly he braces
For the explosion of grenades and faces
Lassie looks back, trying to understand
Why Charlie won’t throw the toy in his hand
But she does not hear the planes distant hum
Or marching feet to the beat of a drum
She cannot see the horror-stricken tears
Of mangled and wounded as gun-smoke clears
Her skin does not ache with memories of blood
Covering the earth in a sickening flood
He cannot see rippling wheat fields, blue skies
Darkened by images burned in his eyes
The woods, once tranquil and sweet with romance
Speak only of fear in his haunted trance
Memories of lying in its cool dark shade
Are frames of terror as history is made
When they told her he made it, Amelia cried
Now she still weeps for her Charlie has died
Janet Martin
http://margoroby.wordpress.com/2011/11/08/painting-poems-tuesday-tryouts/
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Thoughts of a Dying Soldier
The sky is such a lovely shade of blue in early May
The clouds look soft and fluffy; I’ll be touching them today
I'm glad the grass I’m lying on is soft and emerald green
The color of the lawn in spring back home in Aberdeen
God, there was so much that I had hoped that I could do
But it looks as if today I will be meeting you
And all the things I’ve thought worth-while seem suddenly so small
I can’t help but smile to think we fuss ‘bout life at all
The only thing that matters is this moment now impending
The seeds that I have scattered will grow though life is ending
God, it is so little that man-kind will ever know
I'm glad that I am not afraid because You love me so
There’s a letter in my pocket, I suppose someone will find
And give to my beloved, ‘something that he left behind’
Sure would have loved to see her, touch her soft cheek just once more
God, what a useless, bloody hell on earth, this war
Above me now an eagle flies on her majestic flight
I will pass her in the skies as I fly Home tonight
She will fly to some tall tree and to her faithful nest
I’ll fly to eternity and my eternal rest
The sky is such a lovely shade of blue in early May
I wonder what they’re doing in my home-town today
I wish that I could see them all and hold their hands again
Oh God, in death there’s no enemy, we are all just men
Janet Martin
Inspired by the book: The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
And Blood-streams Ache......
As the rough fibers of his jacket
Burn their farewell into her cheek
She cannot see beyond the moment
Or hear the words they speak
But feels the reddened torrents
Drip in quivers from the sky
Landing in impending silence
Good-bye,
Good-bye
Good-bye
Janet~
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Not That Far.....
Perhaps the sky is weeping and gray
And there’s a world of it twixt you and I
Love is unhindered; you are not far away
Love leaps across each lonely mile
There is no fixed perimeter
Where love must be sadly constrained
It takes its flight in thought and prayer
It cannot be caught or restrained
Darling, wherever you are today
Miles cannot separate
They are simply geography
On road maps that we create
But it has nothing to do with love
No matter what road maps say
I feel you near me as I move
No, you are not too far away
Life has many twists and turns
We cannot see past today
Those things for which the spirit yearns
Often seem far away
But when it comes to love, my dear
Its essence wings 'cross the gray
And in its flight it draws you near
No, you are not too far away
All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin
Monday, November 22, 2010
Somebody's Love.....
He loved his mom’s apple strudel
His eyes were kind and blue
He loved a girl named Caroline
And oh, she loved him too
They were going to be married
As soon as the war was done
And maybe if they were lucky
Someday they would have a son……….
He always loved to play football
Was the high school quarter-back
He didn’t play for a medal
He just played for the love of it
And oh, how he loved his dog, Rover
Man’s best friend was his
Now Rover whimpers every night
And wonders where he is………
He was a generous fellow
He walked the second mile
When everybody else said no
He did it with a smile
But nobody knows his attributes
As he lies in the bloody snow
They’ve come to gather the fallen dead
…..here lies another John Doe
Beneath each cross in Flanders’ Field
Beneath the sound of a gun
Beneath the weapon or the shield
Is somebody's dear son
Beneath the watchful eye above
The dying fallen lie
Oh, pray for they are somebody’s love
…….for you and yours they die
Janet~
'son' is a generic term here.......
We pray for all the sons and daughters!
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Strong Enough............
Friday, November 12, 2010
That Was Then....
Not so very long ago
He was running across the yard
Practicing his foot-ball throw
Tossing it far, tossing it hard
Not so very long ago
He had no cares upon his brow
But he has become a man
And he is a soldier now
Not so very long ago
He was just a little guy
But it is no longer so….
As a man’s tears dim his eye
Not so very long ago
He was proud, for he was ten
An innocent little boy….
No longer so….that was then
All Right Reserved
Janet Martin
Remember to remember…..
All the men and women
Who sacrifice their lives
For our freedom!!!
Do we pray for them?
Every day?
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Touching Him......
She could not reach him there
But she could hear his laughter
In the cool slumbering air
She could not look into his eyes
But sometimes she could see them
In the blue of the skies
She could not hold his hand
As she did in the summer
When they raced ‘cross the sand
No, she could not reach him there
So she tenderly covered him
In a blanket of prayer
~Janet~
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Unbearable.....
Loving him
The most beautiful thing
She has ever done
Wild rivers run
Home-fires glow
Within her soul
At last she knows
She is whole
Dreams spawn
More dreams
To love and cherish
But it seems
These dreams
Will perish
Loving him
Wild rivers run
The most unbearable thing
She has ever done
All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin
Monday, June 28, 2010
If You Can......
I know that we can do it
You and I
It’s in the rise and fall
We learn to fly
Love is not a bridge to nowhere
Though some days so it may seem
Oceans have been conquered
By the power of a dream
I know I’m just a woman
You are just a man
But if we stand together
I can do it….
….if you can
Miles are simply numbers
On a chart
They don’t apply to matters
Of the heart
Our love may be a kaleidoscope
A blend of joy and pain
Some days it seems our only hope
Is dancing in the rain
I can feel your heart-beat
Across the timeless span
And I know in its comfort
I can do it….
….if you can
I can take the rising
And the fall
In your arms I know
It’s worth it all
To know you and to love you
Has been life’s sweetest sorrow
And like the sky above you
I will still be here tomorrow
Darling, let me touch you
Let me hold your hand
Across the miles I feel you
Oh, I can do it…..
….if you can
All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin