Joy Unrestrained

How oft the sadness of regret
Would bleed its vesture on my heart
Or paint its dark and sordid art
Across a day not broken yet

How oft its vengeance would remain
A visage, hidden and despised
Where hope lies flat, unrealized
In cold and unrelenting chains

Expectation’s pressing weight
Would push me hard into life’s dirt
Drowning passion in its hurt
Exchanging tenderness for hate...

...and peace would slip from my embrace
My joy be overcome with dread
But for redemption’s river shed
From Hands of sweet, atoning Grace

Janet~

Commandant

He marched ahead of me
barring every door
I was too afraid to retaliate
or even pound on the gate
freshly aware of my insecurity
I cowered on the floor
Subjected to the commandeer
Reliant on a single fortitude…
Fear

Janet~

Squanderer

Why wastest thou thy longing on a sigh
For minutes slipping to elusive past?
Why longest thou to hold a vapor fast?
Or lookest thou with low and dreamy eye
To swift-winged moments dashing by
Thus squandering present joy for shadows cast
No stagnant moment can there ever be
Nor was so small an hour that we should waste
Such treasure on closed lips devoid of taste
Or with eyes turned to past’s eternity
Be blinded to a stream of opportunity
Rushing to an ethereal sea in haste

Janet

To Mike…first crack at The Dare...
Am I vaguely close?

His Name...

What was his name?
He asked softly
As he caught the look of longing
In my eye
What was he like?

Oh, his gaze was as blue
As the azure sky
His smile was as fair
As summer sunshine
Time did not exist
In his pleasant arms
We could walk for miles
For the night was warm
We didn’t think about minutes
As we spent carefree hours
Wandering through oceans
Of nodding wild flowers
Pleasure was sitting
At the brink of dawn
Or simply strolling
Across dew-kissed lawn
I didn’t appreciate him
Nearly enough
Or spend my time thinking
Of it as love…


What was his name?
He heard my wistful sigh
As I replied simply
His name was…
July

The Hard Part Of Poetry

Yes, I admit
Rhyming is easy...

...bleeding from the heart
Isn't

Stretching thought
Is a grueling work-out

Undressing the mind
Is vulnerability
In its truest form

J~

Unspoken...

...Her sorrow bled,
Not in rivers of red
But in dark ink across the night
The tears she wept
By day were kept
In heartbeats out of sight
Life can slice
The same heart twice
Twice hearts can be broken
Her sorrow bled
Where ink-drops shed
Lost years of words unspoken

J~

Mere Observances

Moments are craftsmen of triumph or shame
I love the moment when I whisper your name

Memories are the fruits of victory or defeat
I have tasted both; both bittersweet

Heartache fills acres without leaving a mark
Heaven spills softly in your kiss in the dark

J~

Measure of a Mistake

Hush my dear child
And dry your eyes
It is not in our victories
That we become wise

But wisdom is oft found
With our mouth full of dirt
Our face to the ground
And our heart full of hurt

Hush, my dear one
And dry your eyes
Failure and experience
Help make us wise

Janet~

My mind wandered as we sharpened pencils,
made 'back-to-school' shopping lists...