This Little Thing Called Love.....

It’s not by what we do or say
That we love or take it away
Things leave things for which we yearn
Love asks nothing in return
Love; I cannot quite explain
It’s tender pleasure, searing pain
And no one ever gets enough
Of this little thing called love

Love can please us and fulfill
It can tease us, it can thrill
It can break a heart in two
Like no other thing can do
It’s the one thing we all need
Things are merely quests of greed
And yet we cannot get enough
Of this little thing called love

Whether you are near to me
Or far across a rolling sea
Love is not a thing constrained
It can reach you just the same
Love, you make us laugh and weep
Useless as a thing to keep
And yet we cannot give enough
Of this little thing called love

It makes us want to live, to fly
But for it we too would die
It will nurture, it will heal
And yet it is the pain we feel
It is the sunshine in our sky
Yet it's the teardrop in our eye
Fulfilling yet never enough
It's a little thing called love

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Bad Boys.....

There’s no such thing as a bad boy
Oh, when they come into this world
They all are pure and precious
Red faces and little toes curled
But it seems that some are cheated
Out of things we need so much
And while everyone calls them bad boys
They’re crying for a loving touch

We all need to feel like we’re valued
Like we’re needed, with things to do
We all need a little patience
Some more than others, it’s true
We wouldn’t remove the mischief
Or even the naughtiness
They’re boys, and it is my belief
They’ll learn if given a chance

Some get cheated out of a mother’s arms
And dad never seems to be there
Some have never been told how much
They are loved just for who they are
There’s no such thing as a bad boy
But oh boy, it’s a bad world down here
And some of them learn it quickly because
They have no other choice, I fear

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

"It is my belief that
there is no such thing
as a bad boy...." Spencer Tracy in Boy's Town

Off-guard......

You caught me a little off guard today

As I was walking by

I paused; for your gaze, over-powering and gray

Suddenly captured my eye

And the tear in your sad eyes seemed to say

Good-bye sweet summer, good-bye

You caught me a little off-guard today

The trembling in your sigh

Wove through the limbs, barren and gray

A sad soliloquy

As the landscape joined in the solemn lay

Goodbye, sweet summer, good-bye

You caught me a little off-guard today

I thought I was over you

There is a certain raw beauty in gray

That cannot be found in blue

You caught me a little off guard today

As you bid summer adieu

Janet~

Eloquent......... in my Mind

There are so many things I would tell you, my dear
If only I could find
A way to move them to my tongue
Instead of to my mind

It seems when I try to tell you, my dear
It never comes out like it could
But oh, it would be so lovely to hear
If only it would sound like it should

There are so many things I would tell you, my dear
Tender and earnest and true
But it always comes out in the same way, my dear
In these three words; I love you

Janet~

Builder............

She knew she was strong
This builder of walls………
But oh, she was wrong
In her view of it all
For she built up around her
A wall strong and stout
Now it has bound her
And she cannot get out
She thought she was strong
But at the end of the day
She was not strong enough
To take it away

Janet~

Music in my Mind.....

In the early, early morning
There's a fondness in my eye
As I listen to the music
In the song of days gone by
Its trembling cadence thrills me
In a slow and mournful sway
And the beauty of it chills me
In the bitter-sweetest way
Who knew that notes of laughter
Of a heart-beat and a sigh
Could still be heard long after
Like a sonnet from the sky
Who knew that love and heartache
Are a duet intertwined
And the faint harmony of it
Oft will play within my mind

Janet~

Somebody's Love.....

He loved his mom’s apple strudel
His eyes were kind and blue
He loved a girl named Caroline
And oh, she loved him too
They were going to be married
As soon as the war was done
And maybe if they were lucky
Someday they would have a son……….

He always loved to play football
Was the high school quarter-back
He didn’t play for a medal
He just played for the love of it
And oh, how he loved his dog, Rover
Man’s best friend was his
Now Rover whimpers every night
And wonders where he is………

He was a generous fellow
He walked the second mile
When everybody else said no
He did it with a smile
But nobody knows his attributes
As he lies in the bloody snow
They’ve come to gather the fallen dead
…..here lies another John Doe

Beneath each cross in Flanders’ Field
Beneath the sound of a gun
Beneath the weapon or the shield
Is somebody's dear son
Beneath the watchful eye above
The dying fallen lie
Oh, pray for they are somebody’s love
…….for you and yours they die

Janet~
'son' is a generic term here.......
We pray for all the sons and daughters!

The Broad Spectrum.....

Some people call it sunshine
Some people call it rain
Some people call it dancing
And others call it pain
Some people call it thrilling
Some people call it strife
Some people call it nothing at all
And some just call it…….
Life

Janet~