On Waiting...

...waiting for spring among other things.

Nobody likes to wait

Yet oh,

To wait it seems

Sometimes we must

Then, somehow

As we wait

And wait

And wait

It seems

We learn to trust

© Janet Martin

 Wait on the LORD: 

be of good courage, 

and he shall strengthen thine heart: 

wait, I say, 

on the LORD. 

Ps. 27:14

Ah, Wherefore Art Thou Hiding?

...so, the snow is mostly gone but it was below freezing this morning and the blue wind growls like a bully...

Then let thy verdant impulse overtake this umber sweep

Vile chords of chilling wind-song immerses blue, moody deep

And though we know for things worth waiting for, ah we must wait

Straining, we grasp at echoes of wisteria-laden gate

Springtime, springtime come lightly with warm kisses on thy breeze

How long must we be patient for thy fragrant melodies?

Spread wide thy frock of flowers and shake free thy gleaming tress

Fair maiden, lovely-laden, pray what hampers thy caress?

Didst thou forget thy way while winter pulverized his mat?

See, we stand with arms flung wide where meadow-lands lie flat

Springtime, springtime, do not linger behind a stricken stile

You are everybody’s darling and we miss your bonny smile

As the hart pants after water, sweet springtime, we pant for thee

Hunched long beneath our ragged optimistic misery

Yet spurred by recollection of lush orchard on green hill

Of fallow donning color where mute seed begins to spill

Springtime, springtime, ah, wherefore art thou hiding; in the dell?

Or hast thou simply lost thy way while winter bid farewell?

© Janet Martin

Right on Time

You guide the seed on the wind, Lord

You see the place where it rests

Give us discernment of mind, Lord

Help us to plant our best

You teach the seed how to grow, Lord

We simply water and wait

There is much we do not know, Lord

But we know you are never late

© Janet Martin

Separations

As the winter rains wash the world
Theirs crumbles
Silence is a long and painful good-bye
In veiled shambles

Soft as a baby's breathing morning wakes
Flicker of hope
But, how does one shatter an invisible cage?
Air is hard to grope

To wish on another, weakness
Is an all-time low
But oh,in a thousand new lows she wishes
He could not say ‘no’

She stares through the window; an unbidden mirror
A wall tear-drenched
'It takes two to protect and maintain walls'
Truth is a fearless wench

Across the room five-hundred channels worth
Of chatter swirls
Thick silence seeks the safety net of noise
As raindrops wash the world


J~

Waves

You wash over me in torrents of longing
The touch of your fingers is too far away
Waves of emotion sweep over me, darling
Hold me in your arms and take me away

Take me to that place where we’ll be together
Port in a storm on life’s tumultuous sea
I would not even notice the weather
There in your arms with you holding me

Tempests of waiting and wishing and wanting
Rise from the ocean in waves of despair
Darling, the music is distant and haunting
You’re too far away as you sit in that chair

Janet~

Please Wait......

Please wait…..says the screen as my dial-up internet
Struggles to reach its destiny
Wait……. for what? I ask, a little impatiently
Wait while the day stretches its arms
Toward the evening sky……..
While the wind in vapid charms
Croons an early lullaby?
Wait, while hearts break as love
Succumbs to early graves
Or while we fight back
Lest we become victims or slaves………..

Please wait…..wait while little baby
Grows up and flies away
And little girl becomes a lady
While I whisper….oh, please wait
Wait, as the rose-bud blooms
Weeping withered petals at my feet
And I go searching for its perfume
On a dark and lonely street
Wait, while raven locks turn white
And wisdom crowns the brow
That is now so smooth and bright
In all her dazzling youthful glow
Wait, while she will tell me
How it’s done in the today
For somehow I grew old-fashioned
In all the ‘waits’ along the way

Please wait………while life divides its portions
Of joy, sorrow, victory and defeat
Please wait, the rise and falling of the ocean
Does not wane within the beat
That marks the silent ticks of time
Upon a turquoise swell
Nor writes how far we still must climb…..
Only One can tell
Please wait……while I live, laugh, love, weep
Hold on and let go
I have hands to hold and promises to keep
Oh, please wait until I’ve told you
That I love you so

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin