August Evening Song.....

The cottage that I call my home is bathed in rose-pink glow
And all around me petals fall like bits of colored snow
The robin and the meadow lark call faintly through the mist
While I can feel the saddened smile of summer softly kissed

To weep would be a foolish thing in such a glorious hour
For I can hear the cricket sing among the fern and flower
The breeze that danced on spring’s plateau has tear-drops in her sigh
And in her kindred breath I know she knows the end is nigh

Across the flaming western stage the navy curtains fall
I see the fluttering of a page; I hear a somber call
But far above God lights the first small star to grace the blue
Symbol of everlasting love and promises come true

Now nature lifts in subdued tones her offering of praise
Drifting to eternal thrones beyond this earth-dimmed maze
A universal symphony of summer’s plaintive song
An August evening melody trembling ‘cross the lawn

The shadow of the willow limb begs me to join her dancing
And in the misty moonlight dim with pale white glow enhancing
The carpet where small bare feet run all through the livelong day
I fall into the pleading arms of midnight’s gentle sway

The cottage that I call my home appears forlorn; morose
Beneath the blue and violet tones as heaven holds her close
But she like I is captured by this warm exotic power
As August with her mystic sigh reveres this solemn hour

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Janet Martin

My Favorite Summer Porch

It rests ‘neath the cry of the hovering gull

It cradles the sigh of the noon-day lull

It stretches for miles as a welcome retreat

A planet of smiles and sandy feet

And the waves roll across its tempered floor

For the porch I love most is the summer sea-shore

There is no blue-bell climbing at my side

But there is the swell of the ceaseless tide

And there are no steps of wood or cement

But sand is kinder and where I am content

The wind sweeps across this endless floor

Oh, the porch I love most is a summer sea-shore

No telephone ringing, simply a breeze

And the rhythmic singing of the turquoise seas

No duty waiting, no chores to be done

But simply the beckoning of sand, sea and sun

Of all the grand porches this earth may boast

The porch on the sea-shore is the one I love most

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Janet Martin

On Her Way.....

She has her own version of sorrow
Like oh no, we have no plans for tomorrow
And happiness is a summer rain splash
Or perhaps an orange popsicle mustache
But she walked by today
Her long hair flowing behind
Like golden grain
Rippling in the wind
The sound of her laughter
Floating on the breeze
The echo of chatter
Bouncing off the trees
Mostly arms and legs
And it seems
She is always balancing on something
Mostly dreams
As she walked by today
On her way to being a woman

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Janet Martin

Picnic....

I remember when I hugged you at your grade eight prom
My dear, I loved you like a second mom
Now the years have come between us and I want to cry
Too much mascara cannot hide the hunger in your eye….

Your leopard print mini skirt your stiletto heels
Can’t make me forget August picnics in the field
Picking wild flowers, chasing butterflies
I still see the little girl behind the black mascara eyes….

We all make mistakes, oh; I know I’ve made mine
But after the rain the sun always shines
I know you’re not a little girl anymore
And I’d like to dry the black mascara teardrops on the floor

We could go for a picnic like we did way back then
Some things are not so different as they were when you were ten
We could pick wild flowers, gaze up at the August sky
….too much mascara cannot hide the hunger in your eyes

Janet Martin
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Whole.....

It takes many pieces to create a whole
We are the form of mind, body and soul
What is a trunk with out branches and leaves?
What is a field without earth, grass or sheaves?
Without the water the sea is a grave
But what of the hollow which cradles the wave
The bud on its own would never bloom
A bride is no bride without a groom
Even a stone is a particle mass
The dirt is no lawn until it has grass
The bird and the bee and the butterfly
Without wings could never reach for the sky
A book with out pages or a pen with no ink?
A song without music or fount with no drink?
Yes, it takes many pieces to create what we see
And darling, without you I would never be me

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Janet Martin

Nothing at All

To say I need you near me
Is like saying I need air
And the sunshine is hot
And June is fair
To say I need you darling
Is simply to imply
That there could be another way
Other than you and I

To say a fish needs water
And a flower needs the rain
Or love doesn’t matter
And hope is in vain
Is to say there is no morning
And tears do not fall
It is simply like saying
Nothing at all

If the light in my eye
Or the plea in my smile
Or the hunger in my sigh
Tells you nothing at all
Then what good are words
But white lies in your ear
If you still have not heard
That I need you, my dear

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Janet Martin

Lessons in Longing

If I could I would sit with you
On the back porch like we used to do
Gazing across the dew-laden lawn
Discussing life and the great beyond
That has so quickly come……
And gone

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Janet Martin


Thin Walls…….

Stretching…..
Mile after mile
They could melt
If you would smile
Sixteen is simply
A river
That we each
Must cross
It does not last
Forever

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Janet Martin

Masterpiece…….

With your words
My dear, you carved
Your signature
Upon my heart

With your whisper
In my ear
You carved an
Everlasting tear

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Janet Martin

My Ever-after......

I know
There are very special
Adjectives
And poetry
Written for people
Who are not
Me…..
Perhaps
I should be jealous
But I cannot be
As I stand back
To view
My Life's tapestry….
Of muted echoes
Summer light
A violin in
The dead of night
I know
It keeps changing
This canvas of mine
But I like it fine
For in its re-arranging
There are thoughts
And places
Time can never alter
Among the sea
Of faces
Some stand taller
Whisper more clearly
Remain more dearly
Etched
On this canvas…….
A beautiful sketch
Of my ever-after
Where no one can remove
The sound
Of your laughter

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Janet Martin