Song of the Willow Tree

The wind in a perpetual sigh
Tosses the willow trees
Rain falls from the sodden skies
Like aching memories
Tonight we share the sadness
Melding our unuttered needs
Whilst propriety of saneness
Drifts like dandelion seeds

There are no cold blue shadows
The whole earth, a darkened tomb
As yellow, painted meadows
Bow in mute, colorless gloom
And none can know the weighted tear
That threads the midnight hush
Hovering, a shapeless sphere
Upon a tender brush

Your name is dark with longing
In the iridescent glow
Of the raindrops softly strumming
An amorous tango
While night and rain and wanting
In discordant harmony
Play a song, lonesome and haunting
In the wind-tossed willow-tree

Janet~

Fields...

What a dark day it would it be
What a drab and doleful view
If what’s right in front of me
Were all that I could hold on to

I have found the lure of living
Not in foolish fantasy
But in meadows softly brimming
With great possibility

The little moments filled with yearning
In my sudden reverie
Cannot quench the deeper burning
Of life’s possibility

Is there a lasting satisfaction
In life’s taunting destinies
Or is happiness the attraction
Of life’s possibilities?

Life is like a field of flowers
Stretching to the cloudy sea
We pass through fair, budding hours
Filled with possibility

Countless as the blooms that nod
Moments drift to history
Each one is a gift from God
Filled with possibility

I have found the lure of living
Not in all the things I see
But within the quiet grinning
Of life’s possibility

Janet~

Because...

I really did not want these moments yet...
They come between us
Seeming to pull you farther away
And it hurts me because
I really want you to stay
Just a little longer
If I could I would put moments on hold
Until I am stronger
And I would release them slowly
One breath and then another
Asking them to pause
As I gather you closer
Holding you because
I am your mother

Janet~

About Love

Without respect it is impossible to love
One without the other will never be enough

Love will grow if properly nourished
Left alone it cannot flourish

It is better to keep love alive
Than try to revive it after it has died

Love loves beyond all reason or measure
It is a sacrificial and selfless treasure

Love is not hindered by barriers or oceans
It does not depend on feelings or emotions

It is impossible to keep love hidden
Stronger than steel and soft as a kitten

Love is for both the wise and the fool
Love does not condemn or ridicule

Love is unchanged whether in darkness or light
Love remains the same for it has nothing to hide

Love is neither obsession nor possession…
Love is hope, love is compassion

Love is taught not by word but action
It is more than a quick and passing attraction

Love cannot be bought with gold or silver
Love costs time; time invested in each other

…and now abides these three, faith, hope, love
And the greatest of these is love

Janet~



…

Wedding Poem

How can we know how long is the road
Or its twisting and its winding
We stand here today and vow for aye
A promise pure and binding
Upon this earth, for better or worse
Let nothing tear asunder
May God’s will be done as two become one
A thing of heavenly wonder

In sickness and health, in poverty or wealth
In fair or stormy weather
In high tide or low, through-out life’s ebb and flow
May we be stronger together
As we share smiles and tears and as miles become years
May our love and respect never wane
But each to the other be faithful forever
And unto each other remain

May God above with His perfect love
Be our eternal Guide
May He enfold us, keep and hold us
Ever side by side
Husband and wife for the rest of this life
Oh, may it simply be
A foretaste of the love that waits up above
In Heaven’s eternity

Janet Martin~

Unwritten Poetry

For all the words that I have penned
And thoughts arranged in poetry
You are such the dearer friend
Ever listening patiently…

…For sentiments I cannot quote
You touch a finger to my throat
And though I really cannot tell
You seem to hear them full and well
And I am not compelled to speak
The words you steal against my cheek
Nor is there any need that I
Spell out the longing in my eye
You hear the things I cannot say
And softly brush their want away
You, the dearer friend to me
Read my unwritten poetry

Janet~

Painful Touch

I reach out and catch your hand
As your fingers brush across my mind
By the question in your eyes you don’t understand
Well, my dear, it’s just that I find
Your touch is more than I can bear
When I am here and you are there

There is a sudden hush that follows
The wild wind as it drops suddenly
Darling, it’s the same hollow silence
I feel as you walk from me
And your touch now I cannot bear
For I am here and you are there

J~

Bloom and Smile

Does the daisy apologize to the rose

Because she is white and not red?

Does the holly-hock wish it were very small

And delicate lobelia instead?

I’ve never heard the butter-cup sigh

Because it’s been sown in the wild

Is it not the same then for you and I?

We should bloom where we’re planted and smile

Janet~