They Call Her 'Slut'

She came home from school
As hungry as could be
Mommy wasn’t home
So she just watched TV
What’s a little girl of ten
To do all alone, anyhow?
Mommy seems to be late…..again
…….she’s used to that by now
..and Daddy? She never knew him

Supper is a bag of chips
A lukewarm can of pop
She wonders where her mother is
Should she call her shop?
Last time she tried she wasn’t there
They told her she went home
Surely she will soon be here……..
It’s quiet here alone
…as she suddenly wonders about Daddy

A twelve year old sure knows a lot
About what to get and where
She knows just what to say…….or not
When mother isn’t there
But there’s a group of kids that meet
Over on the next block
They just hang out on the street
Until ten o’clock………
….and they talk…a lot

Fourteen……mom seems busier
Now than she was then
That crazy corporate ladder
Doesn’t seem to have an end
But that’s okay, she’ll be fine
She’s learned a thing or two
She is no longer eight or nine
There’s things a girl can do
…….to be loved again

The street feels like her second home
It’s full of so-called friends….
It sure beats being home alone
Besides….they understand…
….the silent and unwritten codes
The lonesome hunger but……..
Success hurries by….turns up her nose
And mutters……. ‘little slut’
....'gosh, I need to be at work in five minutes!!!'


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Janet Martin……….

November's Song......

You toss across the earth today
A somber cloth of silent gray
No more the gleaming topaz eye
Where bluebells laugh beneath your sigh
You must make your presence known
In the color of a stone

Sing your gloomy lullaby
To the dreary passer-by
Sing your morbid sonnet, then
I know you cannot remain
You’re allotted thirty days
Before you slip into Time’s haze

Silent is November’s dawn
As she breathes across a lawn
That has become a sort of bed
Decked in russet, gold and red
Her tear slips from the barren peak
As it trickles down my cheek

Janet~

Tomorrow......

Tomorrow will be too late
To go back to before today
Let’s take this moment, make the best of it
Before it slips away
No matter how hard we may wish to try
No matter what words we say
Today is as untouchable as the sky
When it becomes yesterday

Janet~

Cara Mia, ti Voglio Bene

They all look so lovely
As they go strolling by
Ladies in long flowing dresses
And starlight in their eyes
Arm in arm with their lovers
What a sight to see
But love is not a painting in Venice…..
Or one act of grand chivalry

I’d love to ride the gondola
Down a moonlit avenue
‘Cara mia, ti voglio bene’
I would whisper to you
And the lights in the little shop windows
Would twinkle in reply
But love is not a street in Italy
Love is you and I

Love is not the perfect villain
Or ‘oh, my sweet Romeo’
Love is the sound of music
In the tender afterglow
Of a mountain we have a conquered
Or a storm as it rests in the sea
Love is the beauty in knowing
That love is you and me

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Pain............

I did the right thing today
…..and I cried
Why do the right things bring us pain
Before the peace of doing right?
Choosing the wrong gives us pleasure
Perhaps for a moment or two
But its reward is grief beyond measure…….
Tell me now, which should we choose?

Janet~

....sometimes it's 'tough love'
with our children...
and sometimes its 'tough love' with ourselves:)

Momentary.....

Like that time you stubbed your toe
Or missed the wood when you swung the axe
And you groaned and moaned ‘cause it really hurt
But life is just like that
Remember that face plant into the dirt
When you slid into second base
Those first few moments; how they stung and hurt
As you wiped unbidden tears from your face
But life is just like that
Remember the satisfaction and pride
The elation and joy of success
How the excitement bubbled from deep inside
In a well-spring of happiness
And delightful pleasure of saying thank-you
For the compliments and praise
As a sense of deliverance rolled over you
In a sweet, satisfying haze
But that was yesterday, before the dismay
Of chapters two and three
As you realize the fleeting prize
Of momentary security
Momentary pleasure, momentary pain
Earthly treasure is stored in vain
Momentary victory, momentary defeat
Momentary shadows or sunny retreat
Life is just like that........
A sequence of momentary things
Lest we forget, we will never be kings
So we dare not scoff at the one in the dirt
Or brush off another’s misfortune or hurt
We all are simply fellow-men
Part of a much, much greater plan
Than this life of momentary mystery
Tomorrow today will be history
Its moments, but steppingstones in a sea
Leading to the brink of eternity

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Stolen Moment.....

Come, my dear
The day passes by
Let's steal a small piece of it
Before the tender sky
Surrenders
To pink and coral hue
Let's steal away, life beckons
Beneath a pavilion of blue........
There will always be something better to do
But we are growing old.....
And can we really hold
Anything forever...all soon is dust
Time will sever and treasure will rust
There will never be a day born for wanderlust
The green tree laughs while it is spring
And summer unfolds like a priceless painting
But soon it is cold and everything
Familiar is strange
Under the brush of change
The hands we've held and lips we've kissed
Are echoes and shadows dearly missed
But now, you throb in the beat of my heart
The happiness of you tears me apart
Soon the laughter of this day disappears
And all that is left is the glimmer of tears
On a face that loved you yesterday
But somehow time stole it away

All rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Linked...........

We become linked to each other
In so many different ways
Sometimes in a moment of pleasure
Or untimely tragedies
Our paths cross, briefly or indefinitely
But we cannot sever
The myriad of memories
That stays with us forever

You were my teacher, you were my nurse
You were my first real kiss
You were the guy who returned my purse
You are the friend that I miss
You were a school mate, you were a pal
You were my best friend’s mom
Or maybe you were simply a gal
I met once, that night at the prom

You were my mechanic before I moved
You were the old man next door
You were the fellow that once I loved
Many long years before
You were the packer at the local food-mart
You were on my baseball team
You were the one who taught me the art
Of chasing an impossible dream

You were the doctor who said to me
Congratulations, it’s a girl
You were the one who once led me
To the brink of another world
You were the one who broke my heart
Before the one who stayed
You were the one who held my hand
When I was afraid

We become linked to each other
In various and sundry ways
Some memories stay with us forever
Some only for moments or days
A word, a touch, a handshake
A glance while passing by
Another link in an invisible chain
Reaching to the sky


All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin