The Lover of Night....

The lover of night cannot waste it sleeping
For then who would see where the lone breeze is weeping
Or as earth reaches up and the heavens bend low
And two become one in a silver-blue glow
Who would see stars on the ocean’s crest?
Or Venus, a stellar eye in the west
If the whole world would sleep then no one could tell
Of the dark, trembling leaf as another star fell
Ivory faces on smooth, satin pillows
Can not hear the whisper of moonlight in the willows
Or tell you the color of one a.m.
The deep shade of velvet at midnight’s hem
The lover of night is roused by the sigh
Of an amber-kissed cloudlet drifting by
Through un-curtained window she drinks in the tune
Of spring, summer, autumn and winter-white moon
The lover of night has known the caress
The subtle delight of complete quietness
Entwined in her heartbeat, yet soft on the air
The music of midnight serenades her there
The lover of night is a tormented breed
For it never can quite satisfy her need

Janet~

Grief......

Some grieve with whiskey
And some drown in tears
Some grieve for moments
And others for years
Some grieve in silence
And some grieve in prayer
Some grieve without
A hand to hold anywhere
Some grieve within
And others show all
Some with a pen
As ink teardrops fall

Janet~

Winter's Night or Such is Life......

Your altar is not made of stone
But of a starry sky
And moonlight captivates the throne
Where all our daydreams lie
I wander on your muted turf
Quiet and wistfully
For suddenly it seems the earth
Is a vast silver sea
As on its crest I sail alone
Across the wave of time
Beyond the troubles I have known
To where the bluebells climb
For just a few short months ago
We sat upon this wall
And gazed at garden paths below
And heard the waterfall
But now, besides the winds that blow
There is no sound at all
The crickets left three months ago
The song-bird ceased to call
As to a fairer shore she flew
Until the beck of spring
I look to where the roses grew
There is no whispering
Of little breezes as they laugh
Within its scented bloom
They scampered down the garden path
Before the night of gloom
And russet teardrops deck the soil
Beneath the thorny stem
Somnolent image of our toil
And what becomes of men
Ah night, a labyrinth of thought
Within your quietness
Vain pretense is all for naught
And utter foolishness
The reeds that blew are stiff and dead
The winds no longer smile
And every bloom has bowed her head
On some dark, garden isle
And such is life, the dawn of death
A journey to the night
Where we will draw our final breath
And take that final flight

Janet~

Nothing New.....

So perhaps then you think this is something new
And no one has ever felt quite like you
You love him; he loves you, incomparable bliss
Surely no one has ever felt quite like this
Well my dear girl, though I’m quite happy for you
Let me just reassure you, this is nothing new

Young love, the sparkle of life in your eye
Young love, perhaps a mother’s envy
And yet there’s a gleam that can never replace
The sparkle that glows on a young love’s face
For the fervor of love that is tried and true
Is still dearer by far, also nothing new

A broken heart hurts the self-same way
As it did in the very most ancient of day
Betrayal, regret and the sound of good-bye
Did then and will still bring a tear to the eye
Be it joy or grief that comes to me or you
The truth of it is, it is nothing new

Ships sail, birds fly, youth dreams, and aged die
We wish, we pray and somehow life just slips away
We fail, we succeed, we hope, we need
And every now and then a dream comes true
Yet this as well is nothing new

Janet~

The thing that hath been,
It is that which shall be;
And that which is done
Is that which shall be done;
And there is no new thing under the sun. Eccles. 1:9

Where the Footprints Go....

She wonders, if they all appeared
On the fresh fallen snow
What a dizzying maze t’would be
As ‘round and round they go
And if somebody followed them
Oh, would it be okay
With out any need for shame
Where all her footprints lay

At first they are so tiny
Little patterns in the snow
Following the bigger feet
And where those footprints go
Over hills of time they tread
And suddenly she sees
Instead of following she leads
Those footprints, trusting, wee

She cannot see how far they go
Or where these steps will end
But there is one thing she knows
Soon someone else will stand
Within the footprints she has left
Like tracks upon the snow
Little feet will follow them
Where all the footprints go

Janet~

Distracted............

I was going to be in a hurry today
But I got distracted along the way……….
For Someone had brushed the landscape clean
With a crystal hush and a dazzling sheen
Until everything ordinary, brown or gray
Became each their own master-piece in the most spectacular way
And the little brook, just beneath the hill
To the casual on-looker appeared silent and still
But I heard it chuckle and beckon to me
Whispering softly on its way to the sea
The limb that yesterday was cold and dull
Grinned for it knew it was beautiful
The touch of a higher heavenly hand
Can make even a twig or a sprig appear grand
And as I gazed at perfect blue up above
I breathed a prayer for each dear one that I love
Even the wind was silent and still
Too lovely the morn to bring tiding of ill
Yes, I was going to be in a hurry but then
Somebody gently said, why don’t you slow down?

Janet Martin

It really was a pretty morning if you’re
Into this kind of thing………
You know, COLD and WHITE and perfectly peaceful

Slide-show....

I stepped back….he knew it wasn’t cool to cry
And tomorrow he’d go to school with every boy’s envy
A black eye…….
I wanted to hold him like I used to do
And just let him cry if wanted to
But twelve years old and surrounded by ten of the same
Means mother’s words must hold him…… or at least until we’re home

I gazed at him…….my little boy-man
And without premonition a slide-show began
Playing in my mind…….
Hey mom, look at me, hey mom, watch this
Mom, tuck me in, don’t forget my kiss
Grubby little hugs and chubby little hands
Looking for bugs and tasting the sand
Growing bigger, but not to big to hold
Trying to do the things he’s been told
Though boys will be boys and sometimes they forget………
And after all, they are not men yet
So when did we begin to stand eye to eye?
Oh we all know that big boys and mothers don’t cry……
At least not in PUBLIC……
Oh God, only You can
See how much I love this little man
Please don’t let him see this tear in my eye
‘cause we know that mothers and big boys don’t cry………….

Janet~

Yesterday as we waited for the doctor to look at Matt's
eye, after a little mis-hap at school
suddenly I fought back tears........
as I recalled a little guy of yester-years:):)

Matt is fine and sporting a very black eye!!!
He keeps asking me how long I think it will last:):)

The Best Part.....

So maybe the landscape is not verdant green
And the sky is a little gray
Happiness lies not in what may be seen
Or things acquired along the way
Happiness lies in the hands we hold
The best part of every day

I’ll never be rich, but that is not my goal
Little is much in love
Wealth cannot bring contentment to a soul
Or music to the stars above
The best part of life is seen in the glow
Of eyes that say ‘you are enough’

We will never have all we may wish for, tis true
But they can not snatch what lives in the heart
No one can steal my love for you
Touch its ending or where it may start
Then to know I am loved in the same way too
Is most surely life’s very best part

Janet~