Wanting.....

Wind and moon on the ocean crest
Faint light croons in the slumbering west
This is the hour I love the best
With music warm and gentle
Wind-tossed willow silhouette
Mossy pillow ‘neath my head
Listening to a night quartet
Your arm a lovely lintel

As the starlight falls like snow
In silver flecks ebbed to and fro
Reflecting in your eyes soft glow
A deep and earnest haunting
Reverberates without a word
As gravity of earth is stirred
Time and reason become blurred
In songs of grief and wanting

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Janet Martin

But I Must Go.........

I’m thankful for the dance we’ve had
And all the joys you’ve shown me
But I must go, please don’t be sad
For you can never own me
I’ll share with you a little while
The hillside where we wandered
Beneath a gentle azure smile
A blissful hour squandered

I’m thankful for each hand I’ve held
In summers pleasant journey
How sweet the blossoms that we smelled
Their memory tastes like honey
But I can never quite stand still
There’s too much life to hone me
None can be held against their will
So you can never own me

A vagabond, the poet’s heart
A restless lonesome drifter
He’ll share with you a little part
A smile, a bit of laughter
But then upon a winsome breeze
A call that he must answer
Thus the poet’s heart will be…….
A solitary dancer

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Janet Martin

Little Girls.....

Braids are bouncing as they race
To their favorite hiding place
Down the dusty lane they run
Hand in hand beneath the sun
Isn’t it a glorious world?
It’s great to be a little girl

Butterflies and fantasy
Flip-flop feet so fancy-free
Living happy carefree hours
In a world of smiles and flowers
Pure and priceless, precious pearls
In the form of little girls

Sunbeams dancing on their way
Laughter trickling as they play
Endless chatter, boundless dreams
Where the winsome fairy gleams
What a sad and dreary world
Were it not for little girls

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Janet Martin

A Long Farewell

Hold me close then let me go
Your parting words so quickly tell
Oh my dear, I think you know
I do not like a long farewell

The columbine and apple tree
Lay heavy with the scent of June
When you are so far from me
I will hear you in their tune

See the daisies on the hill
Silent witness to these hours
Suddenly I feel a chill
Where we danced among the flowers

Darling, leave me, darling stay
Without you I’m but a shell
Hold me close, no, go away
I do not like a long farewell

Keep the soft blue memory
Where our tears and starlight fell
Leave me now or never leave
I do not like a long farewell

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Janet Martin

Back-drop......

Draw the sun beneath the earth
And dim its sallow shining
Sprinkle heavens velvet girth
With a star-studded lining
Turn down the glow of western sky
And mute its flaming tresses
Breathe a tender lullaby
In midnight-blue caresses

Let the night bird with its song
Serenade the hours
Where vibrant shades of emerald green
And myriads of flowers
Don the sullen charcoal blush
That deepest twilight renders
Beneath a grey and purple brush
The whole of earth surrenders

Whilst I in wordless reverie
Behold the transformation
Creeping in from sea to sea
In somber adulation
I join the vespers silent song
And gaze in awestruck wonder
At the back-drop of a dawn
Awaiting over yonder

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Janet Martin

Daddy's Home

I smile as I see you pull into the drive
They rush out to greet you, eight years old and five
With your five o’clock shadow to prickle their cheeks
Reaching to hug you midst giggles and shrieks
The scent of grime and sweat doesn’t matter
You lose yourself in their innocent chatter
Gone for now are the small plans you nurtured
A cold drink, a shower, a relaxing supper
For the very best hour of the day has come
When you hear your children shout “Daddy’s home”

Suddenly the weariness fades from your brow
As young tender arms remind you somehow
That there is a reason for all that you do
Blonde hair, pink cheeks and eyes of blue
Kisses as soft as a summer rain
Remind you that you have not lived in vain
And what could be sweeter as you pull into the drive
Than the unbridled welcome of eight and five
For the very best hour of their day has come
As they wrap you with love and shout “Daddy’s home”

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Janet Martin

Inquisitive.....

What lies beneath your brawny skin?
What rushes through your soul?
What stirs your heart so deep within
My dear, what makes you whole?
What are your thoughts you never tell?
What is your deepest fear?
Darling, by now you know me well
Oh, won’t you tell me dear?
The mystery, the restless gleam
Tell me from whence they come
Are they the traces of a dream
That never found a home
And in that distant far-off gaze
And in that half-breathed sigh
And in that sorrow on your face
The shadow in your eye
Is there a dream you cannot name?
A song you’ve never sung?
An ember that has lost its flame
When you were still so young?
Is there a hunger still unfed
A yearning still to fly
Is there a life that waits un-lived?
As hours hasten by?
What lies beneath your soft warm sigh?
Or in your silent musing
Who do you see with half-shut eye?
What comfort are you choosing?
I’d like to think that I would know
If you should choose to tell
I know you know I love you so
For you know me too well

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Janet Martin

Faded Rose

Tenderly I gaze upon
Its petals limp and faded
Once a vibrant, ruby bloom
It’s withered now and jaded
Where has all her beauty gone?
The glory of her splendor
The petal where the dew-drop shone
When love was new and tender
Beneath the sun and wind and rain
She offered all her beauty
Withstood the tests of grief and pain
To love beyond all duty
But now she folds her petals wan
To rest where new life grows
And tenderly I gaze upon
The sad and faded rose

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Janet Martin