Some Things Never Change......

It’s been said of this old life
That nothing stays the same
And that the only constant
Thing in this life is change
But now that I am older
I would like to make this claim
As much as things are changing
Some things still stay the same

A dollar makes a young lad grin
And boys will still be boys
Full of mischief, life and vim
Energy and noise
Heaven still sends angels down
Wrapped up in little girls
Wisdom is our greatest crown
Above rubies and pearls

A baby is still innocence
Pure and undefiled
And there is nothing on this earth
As precious as a child
A mother in the kitchen
Is considered old-fashioned
But a home-cooked meal for dinner
Is still loved by everyone

A broken heart still hurts the same
As it did years ago
We still make dirt regardless of
The latest cool gizmo
Love is still the dearest thing
That everybody needs
Words can heal or injure
And our actions still plant seeds

Hand-written letters are still the best
And can be tucked into a pocket
You cannot smell an e-mail
Or put it in a locket
A sunset is still beautiful
As is a sudden smile
We long for our loved ones
We have not seen in a while

Constant is this thing called ‘change’
It changes oh, so much
Yet there’s a myriad of things
That change can never touch
God’s love is still unending
His gift of grace is free
And nothing changes one great truth
After life…..is eternity

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Thought..................

We cannot always pen in word
The thoughts that tease and plague or hurt........
Nor does it seem that I've been taught
How to derail my train of thought
Thoughts seem to have minds of their own
Drifting and tumbling when we are alone
Unhindered by distance, time or space
In them lingers the warmth of a face...............
Thought is our chief in command
Thought becomes the work of our hand
It can be pleasure or agony
The cradle of our destiny
Thought provokes and it inspires
Sometimes the smoke, more oft the fire
It is an endless avenue
Given to both the wise and the fool
Tis the thoughts we choose to entertain
Which lead us to ruin or wisdom’s gain

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Happy Birthday, Mom

How do I find the perfect words
To convey my thoughts
How do I thank a mother
For all the things she’s taught?
I gaze in thoughtful wonder
To distant stars above
And realize that mother
Is another word for love

To tell the fullness of her worth
Is like counting every star
For what is warmer than the hearth
Where loving mothers are?
The greatest treasure of this land
Does not fill jeweled vaults
But lies within a mother’s hand
As she her God she exalts

How do I tell you, mother
Of my deepest love for you
On earth there is no other
That can fill the spot you do
There are no words to tell you
But I thank my God above
As I realize that mother
Is another word for love

With love for my mother,
Happy 68th Birthday!

~Janet~

Hideout....

She made a little hide-out
To get away from the ‘crowd’
And on the outside she wrote
‘NO BOYS ALLOWED’………….

And it made me ponder
If I have a hide-out
With a sign on the door
Saying…..’NO GOD ALLOWED’

Janet~

Big Shoes..........

Dear God………….

Sometimes when I look at my children
I feel so very small…………
Funny…..because when I was a kid
I thought parents were tall!!!

….now the shoes that wait for me
Seem mighty big to fill
Dear God, help me to walk in them
According to Your will

Janet~

On some days its easier to see the humor in it
than on others:)

A Picture of Life......

It’s a kaleidoscope of color
It’s a quadrille of change
It’s a shift in the weather
It’s warm sun and cold rain
It’s a flaming vesture
Of orange, red and gold
Until it’s stripped of its rainbow
And left bare and cold


It’s cantankerous and moody
It’s laughing and gay
It’s stunning in beauty
It’s chilling and gray
It’s a landscape of emotion
It is grief and delight
It's contrast in an ocean
Of darkness and light

Life; I’ll compare thee
If, perchance I may
To the sorrow and beauty
Of an autumn day
Life is a season
Of laughter and strife
Oh the season of autumn
Paints a picture of life

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

As I drove my daughter to work this morning
The fields which not so very long ago
Were brilliant green and gold
Are now a dull and somber brown…….
But the sun was shining so when I returned home
I hung out a line of laundry…….
Twenty minutes later it was pouring a rain/sleet mixture….
So I dashed out to bring in the laundry!!!!
It’s sunny right now:)
My laundry is in the dryer!!!!

The picture collage was taken the other night
When the eastern sky was a deep foreboding blue
And the west flaming pink, purple and fiery gold!!!!
AND IT WAS RAINING!!!! It was eerily beautiful
Because of the tornado warnings!

Almost November

The perfumed haunts of late July
Lay cold and barren ‘neath the sky
A sky of moody blue and gray
Where low cloud drives the sun away
The sun which seems a little pale
It’s valiant beam a little frail


The purple pansy bows her head
Nestled in a leafy bed
She listens to the lonesome tune
Of winds that used to laugh in June
But now they sweep across the earth
Weeping with a chilling mirth

In the frigid morning hush
The paint upon the artist’s brush
Has turned from gold, scarlet and bronze
To cold and muted under-tones
Almost November……is what it would say
If the sky were turned into a painting today…………..

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

What Might Have Been........

Not for us to plead
For brilliant field
Or question cold and
Grievous streams
Tumbling by.......
All the fruit
That thought can yield
And all the yearning
Of vague dreams
In barren reaches lie
Does wisdom fall
To those who patiently abide
Trusting higher Hands
Life's undulating echoes call
Across the shifting tide.......
Life's shadows dance
And shimmer on time's whitewashed sands
With joy and sorrow drifting low
A transcient sheen
Not for us to clutch within our hands
The elusive glow
Of what might have been