A Mystery

Who can explain love?
This thing we give and give
Yet can never give too much of
Or get enough…..

It is not a mere emotion
For emotions rise and fall
While love serves with devotion
Standing faithful through it all

Who can explain this four-letter word?
Leaving us most intensely stirred
Evoking within us life’s greatest pleasure
And deepest pain
Yet, it seems we love without measure
And it is impossible to love in vain
Though we may love and lose….
We love again

There is none so rich that he does not need it
And none so poor that he cannot have it
Love’s stores are never depleted
Yet useless if we try to save it

In love we hold, kiss and embrace
In love we let go as tears cover our face
In love we leap, in love we fly
In love we live, in love we die

Who can explain love?
This many-splendored desire
Mild as a cooing dove
Wild as a raging fire
Solid as a rock in the ocean
Yet soft as the mist on the sea
Is there any who can explain it?
This splendid mystery

Janet~

Thank-you For Loving Me Song

It’s easy to take our love for-granted
And miss the treasure that we hold each day
Darling, I need you to understand it
I love you even when I cannot find the words to say……..

Thank-you for loving me, darling
Thank-you for not saying no
It’s not always easy to keep holding on
When so many seem to be letting go
Thank-you for standing beside me
Even when we’re miles apart
I feel your love deep inside me
With every beat of my heart

It’s easy to be casual or calloused
And I know it isn’t right
To be blinded to the love all around us
And I’m going to love you through new eyes tonight

Thank-you for loving me darling,
Through every high and each low
Thank-you for being a shoulder
To lean on through life’s ebb and flow
Thank-you for keeping the faith dear
When love is a hard, bitter fight
Thank-you for the love of a lifetime
Oh, let me love you through new eyes tonight

Yes, it’s easy to take our love for-granted
And trample on a treasure of the soul
Darling, I need you to understand it
You’re the part of me that keeps me whole

Janet~

Old Man Winter

High in the tresses of deep evergreen
The north wind tosses each bough
Futile the caresses of brilliant sunshine
He laughs and continues to blow
Dipping into each hollow and dell
With his gifts of ice and snow

In one heedless flourish he transforms the girth
Of river and wooded hill
Delivering to them in triumphant mirth
The garb of winter’s chill
As the green, blue and golden palettes of earth
Submit to his frigid will

Somewhere the tropical breezes enhance
The turquoise swells of the sea
And somewhere the frolicking sunbeams dance
To a sun-kissed melody
Somewhere bare feet dash across whitewashed sands
Where soul and spirit roam free

And soon the reaches of that fair domain
Will begin her subtle invasion
Soon the cold wind will howl in vain
As earth stirs to a warmer sensation
Bidding farewell to old man winter again
As we send him on a long vacation

Janet~

Matthew thought this snow day was great at first…
No school!!!!
Now he hates it…no hockey either!

Here are a few collages of winter at our house....

Favorite Part.........

One moment does not out-last another
They come, they go, and they fade together
But in the humming blur of reverie
There are moments that stand alone in my memory
Master-piece moments that can never slip
Beyond the warmth or touch of my lips
They cannot fade into obscurity
For somehow they have become
The favorite part of me

One moment is a mere heart-beat or a sigh
A tear perhaps or flicker of the eye
But in this myriad of moments in the sun
I have held a few that cannot be outdone
And even as those moments slipped away
I knew that I would never be the same
For somehow, momentarily
I held you close and you became
The favorite part of me

Janet~

For Love Alone..........

Do not love me for my gold or raven locks
Do not love like a new spell-binding song
Or like the brook that chatters over rocks
A momentary fling before it’s gone
Oh darling, love me always
For the sake of love alone

And do not say that this is why
I love you so; or else pretend
I’ll never change; flowers die
We cannot know how shades of life may blend
So darling, love me always
Like a true and mutual friend

Oh, do not love me for some worth
That I’m unable to retain
There is nothing on this earth
That to me is greater gain
Than to hear you say you love me
Darling, say those words again……

…….and love me not because I’m young
Or because my eyes are blue
Or for something I have done
Or for a promise old or new
Love me for the sake of love alone
For darling, so I love you

Janet~

Common Ground

My dear, we all stand on the same brink
On the edge of a common abyss
There is none who can say
Tomorrow there will certainly be that or this…
There is no one so rich that he has been given
Power to see beyond this moment
There is none so poor that that he is immune
To the morrows grace or its torment
We are kindred-spirits in this regard
In the longing with which we love
Or in the love with which we long
We are bound by the chord of mortality
There is none so strong or wise that he can know
What mystery lies
Beyond the present ebb or flow
And so here we are joined
As we stand on the edge of the unknown
We are one, there is no one alone
Who can see what tomorrow will be
Or how far is eternity
But only this…
Who ever we are and wherever we go…….
God is

Janet~

Heaven's Artistry......

How does one justly draw with pen
The gifts of God bestowed to men?
And yet it doth quite drive me mad
To leave its pure delights unsaid
Immersed in heaven’s artistry
Surrounded by His poetry……

In the west a blazing fire lies
On tinted snow from coral skies
As in the east a deep blue surge
Over cold, blue fields converge
North winds sweep across the plain
Where once we frolicked in the rain

Then, as night lets its curtain down
The sky becomes a dazzling crown
And all that humble man can do
Is wonder, at this awesome view
As God displays above the earth
A glimpse of another universe……..

The North Star, like a sparkling gem
Gleams upon the velvet hem
Of rolling waves in purple-blue
Shadowing a lofty avenue
As the Painter in glorious perfection
Manifests Himself in heaven’s reflection

Janet~

I was treated to a feast for the eyes tonight
while dropping my daughter off at a friend’s house.

Of Choices...............

She mimicked me……
Index finger on her lip,
Middle finger under her chin
Face drawn in concentration………
I hadn’t noticed her on the other side
Of the van door, looking in
Watching.....
I had waited for what felt like
An eternity
In a mother’s busy day
And I got lost in depths of thought
Somewhere along the way

She asked me,
What are you thinking about?
I paused a moment, then replied
I’m thinking about ‘choices’
How lives become what we decide……..
Let’s take something as simple
As the food we eat
Do we choose food that is healthy
Or rich and sweet
Do we care for our bodies
Like a finely-tuned machine
For choices, seemingly hidden
Do not remain unseen…..

I was thinking about your father and I
How the things we choose
Will help to shape your thoughts and life
…….your version of lies or truths
And how my parents chose for me
In all those moments, tiny on their own
Yet when melded together
Becoming my memories of home…..
How choices made over and over
Become habits
Shaping who we are…….

Slothful or helpful,
Foolish or wise
Moments,
A mere twinkling of the eyes
Yet the impact of moments
And endless choices
Become memories
And lifetimes,
The echo of voices
Playing back to us
In the still of the night
All of our choices
Whether wrong or right
Never affect only one solitary life
Our choices spawn goodness
Or evil and strife
Molding generations
And future voices
Oh, the incredible impact
Of choices
When our Maker knocks
What will our answer be?
This choice unlocks
The door to eternity

Janet~

I don’t think this answer was quite what she was expecting:)