Tyrant...

Ruthless tyrant
Stripping to shreds
My last dash of hope
That it’s not winter yet
You laugh in triumph
As you unleash
A shower of diamonds
Across the earth……..

……..I, a true-blue summer heart
Gaze at your dazzling shawl
And concede, cautiously, that perhaps
You’re no tyrant ….after all

Janet~

I try desperately to look at it
Through the eyes of a poet…..
‘it’ being the white stuff they call SNOW!
We made a snowman……
And snow-angels……
‘we’ being myself and the little boys
I baby-sit and I watched the one-year-old
As his blue eyes lit up in excitement.
The laughter of the four-year-old
Sparkled across a pure, dazzling expanse and
I found a little bit of poetry in the arms
Of my favorite tree………….

This Person.......

Who is this person?
This creature of habit…
Habits that drive others crazy
But I find endearing
Or used to….perhaps?
Who is this person?
Who laughs and smiles
And has the occasional growl
When she is weary
Or when I drive her crazy
Who is she, this one
Who comforts me?
My lovely friend
Even when I don’t see
Her; still she remains
Tenderly, dearly, at my side
Who is this woman?
Once she was my bride
Gazing at me…
….in love, starry-eyed
We’ve come a long way
Together, she and I
As she became mother
And we began to divide
The hours and days
That once belonged to
She and I…..
Who is this person
This half of my life
I've grown so accustomed to.....
Ah yes, she is my wife

Janet~

Star-struck........

Silver pebbles on a vaulted shore
You gleam as clearly as in days of yore
Unaltered by the sands of time
I gaze upon your starry clime
Immeasurable depth, unfathomable sphere
Dazzling sash across each year

Though sudden cloud may heave or sigh
And draw its shroud across your eye
Though sun may rise and dim your light
There you are when it is night
Lambent wonder, celestial Muse
Unconquered splendor; your avenues

Above a landscape silver-brushed
Above the ocean, gleaming, hushed
On fields where once men fought and died
On crosses standing side by side
Timeless beacons on a shore
Where none can tread your jeweled floor

What is man compared to thee?
Orbit to infinity
We may flaunt our greatest boast…….
One grain of sand upon your coast
What is man compared to thee?
A tiny ripple on a sea

Janet Martin

Something...........

My arms run over with sorrow,
My mind runs over with joy
I've seen the hope for tomorrow
In the eyes of a wee girl or boy
I cannot name all my blessings
Or the things that make me glad
But oh, why the sudden wrenching
Over the thing I never had...........

I cannot dare to hunger
As I draw my loved ones near
Their love makes me stronger
Then why the sudden tear?
Why, in a tender moment
Do I hear it, haunting and sad?
A melody of torment
Over that which I never had..........

It drifts on the horizon
Across a turquoise sea
Notes of grief and passion
In aching harmony
I've had much more than I deserve
In this I'm humbly glad
Heaven holds in grand reserve
The thing I never had


Janet~

If life were perfect....
who would desire heaven?

All Because......

He’s tired most of the time, it seems
He slowly let go of those boyhood dreams
He’s busy now with demands and things
All because he fell in love with a woman
His golf clubs are hooks in the old tool shed
He swings a little girl from his knee instead
Another mouth joins them to be fed
All because he fell in love with a woman

Who knew heaven on earth would be
An old stone house and a willow tree
Or that weariness could be so sweet
All because he fell in love with a woman
So what if there are more bills than money
You can’t buy love or a darling honey
Even in the rain it’s a little sunny
All because he fell in love with a woman

There’s no such thing as a fool-proof plan
Car-wrecks and dental bills, a worn-out van
And yet, he is sure he’s a most blessed man
All because he fell in love with a woman
One day at a time is all he can bear
He lives on love, a pay-check and prayer
But you won’t find a happier man anywhere
All because he fell in love with a woman

No Picasso on his study walls
Crayola artwork decks fridges and halls
With a family portrait; the best of them all
Because he fell in love with a woman
He doesn’t miss those faded dreams
In his eyes a deeper contentment gleams
Heaven is pleasure in every day things
All because he fell in love with a woman


All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Moment.....

One little moment
Does it really matter?
This tiny, insignificant thing
A tick of the clock
A breath in the air
One note in a song that we sing

But the tick becomes minutes
And minutes, then hours
A soft breath becomes two, then three
Each breath a heartbeat
That becomes a lifetime
Before eternity

The note that hovers
For a second or two
Forms a grand symphony
A moment, a moment
It slips from our view
One strand in our life’s tapestry

One little moment
May seem on its own
Tiny, worthless and trite
But moment by moment
Priceless measure
That softly becomes a life

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Moments matter!!

It Must Be Christmas....

Children’s laughter fills the air
Hearts beat lighter as we hear
Baby hugs his teddy bear
Oh it must be Christmas
Candle glow and firelight
Decorations twinkling bright
What a perfect silent night
Oh it must be Christmas……again

Snowflakes dancing to the earth
Heralding a Savior’s birth
Baby Jesus songs are heard
Oh, it must be Christmas
Memories of seasons past
Glow upon the fire-place
Reflecting in our eyes and face
Oh, it must be Christmas again

Candy-canes and ginger-bread
Poinsettia blooming, brilliant red
Tuck away that silent dread
Oh, it must be Christmas
Bells and stars and little trees
Cookie cutter memories
Melt like shortbread, one more please
Oh, it must be Christmas again

Hearts beat lighter for awhile
Hope shines brighter in each smile
As we meet our inner child
Oh, it must be Christmas
Season of remembering
Birth of Jesus, baby King
Come and join us as we sing
Oh it must be Christmas….again

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

We were decorating the tree the other night
when suddenly one of my daughters asked me
Mom, are you happy or sad?
'Well', I replied, 'I guess a little of both.
I just cannot believe that it is Christmas ....again.
I honestly feel like we just did this and it
reminds me again of how fast little moments
melt into years and lifetimes!!!

Of Memory...

More powerful than a hurricane
Or storm upon the sea
Is the passion and the pain
Of memory..........
The wind may rage
The rain may pound
Memory plagues
Without a sound

Janet~