Soon.............

Soon the last leaf will have fallen
And soon all the red will be gone
Soon all the birds that are calling
To fairer domains will have flown
Soon misty hills of gray-purple
Will gleam with a silver hue
And our foot-steps will soon be muffled
On a snow-covered avenue

Soon the sound of your laughter
Will begin to fade away
Up past the star-studded rafter
And into the clouds of gray
As we vainly try to remember
Your smile, your voice, its tone
The cold bleak wind of November
Weeps on a cold grave stone

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Janet Martin

Dreamer's Yard

We laughed that day, and walked for miles
On the deserted railway track
Which now they’ve taken away in the name of progress
And with it, a piece of the past
A trail of silent paradise
Meandering ‘neath layered skies
Through fields of blissful solitude
Along the fringe of deep dark wood
Earth's heaven scented with tar and rust
Heat waves shimmering from the rocks and dust
We walked its weather-beaten path
Where daisies smiled and blue days laughed
And young girls dreamed; but in rash disregard
They stripped away the dreamer’s yard

Janet Martin
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Pleasure......

There are so many little things
To stir my heart with pleasure
But in this life where time has wings
I love the hour of leisure
Life seeks to enslave us to
Our cares and endless duty
Sometimes we need an our or two
To drink in this life’s beauty

Before the night-wind sings her tune
Before the lonesome dove
Will solemnly and sadly croon
Her farewell song of love
Before the purple shadows climb
Across the twilight hours
Can we take a little time
To drift among the flowers?

The flowers of ten-thousand hues
Raining like crimson snow
Upon the silent avenues
Of summer’s faded glow
There are so many little things
Designed to bring us pleasure
But I desire the joy life brings
Within the hour of leisure

I could speak quite endlessly
Of nature’s boundless glory
It stirs the fire of life in me
And eases grief and worry
A brand new canvas every day
A painting I can treasure
Oh do not let life slip away
Without an hour of leisure

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Janet Martin

We all have our own version of what brings us pleasure.....
but one of my daughters enjoys the songs of nature
much like I.......we have had great times together!!!

Every Night

We pray together every night
And then she hugs me.....
.....long and tight
And as I bend to tuck her in
She beckons as she hugs again.....
I wish you'd stay right here with me
Cause you're so cozy, don't you see?
There's room for three to snuggle here
...you and me and my big bear
I dubiously eye the other nine bears
who have taken up residence in bed with her
And she insists my reply is ALWAYS the same....
'I think it would get a little squishy' I say
Ah, what would we do without little girls?
Surely they are the angels of this world

~Janet~

Stunning......

He was stunning…
Perhaps not by the world’s standard
Their definition of the word
Is cunning
Leaving the beholder stirred
By beauty and excellence
The visual picture
Brawn perhaps and stature
The choice of dress
All designed to
Allure and impress….
He was stunning
But not in this way
You see
This man was clothed
With humility
He is eighty-three
And STUNNING
(of course, he has no idea!!!)

~Janet~

Miracle......

Yonder hill is fading
It’s leaf a dimming flame
No more the wanderer shading
Beneath a vibrant limb
Her grand and stunning vesture
Now rustles at our feet
In soft and silent gesture
Another year complete

The throbbing bloom of summer
Lays dormant on the ground
Weeping in countless number
And yet without a sound
The solitude unbroken
In all her falling tears
A wordless farewell spoken
Yet he, who listens, hears........

........a myriad of wonder
From quiet woodlands spill
And he who will may ponder
This sacred spectacle
For in this glorious crowning
That decks the lowly sod
Each leaf, distinct and stunning
Is a miracle from God

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Janet Martin

Days That I Recall..........

Ah, those were sweet days that I recall
I’d return if I could to some, but not all
I gaze through the gold to glimpse blue sky between
And my mind beholds what was yesterday’s green
But just as that perfect and fine summer day
It, like all time slips quickly away

Ah, those were grand days that I recall
On the fields where time was an endless hall
For youth does not tally the minute or hour
A dash through the valley in search of her tower
Heedless of subtle and deepening sighs
Life as eternal as summer-blue skies

Ah, those were the brief days that I recall
For somewhere in a soft haze summer turned to fall
I gaze through the gold to the blue sky in-between
As I softly behold what once had been
I gaze through the gold, through the autumnal sheen
Ah, too soon I am old….I still prefer green

Ah, these are brief days I am living in
Why stand and gaze as the wheels of time spin?
I’m thankful for every glad day I recall
For every summer will end in fall
As I gaze at through the gold to the blue sky up above
Suddenly I behold an infinite love

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Janet Martin

In the Middle of a Dream......

I caught him today
Saw the far-off gleam
Where adolescence taunts
Like a rushing stream
What visions does he see
In that distant gaze
As life’s mystery
Waits in a misty haze
Beyond this fleeting hour
Where time is free
In childhoods bower
Yet impatiently
He waits for it seems
Like an eternity
To the brink of his dreams

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Janet Martin