Shimmering Art

There is a soft and sultry sheen

Upon the field of grass

Where every blade of emerald green

Is kissed with liquid glass

As midnight’s raindrops glisten

In the shimmering light of dawn

A misty, moody painting

In the sweep of silver lawn

There’s a soft and sultry aching

In the meadow of my heart

Where time’s giving and taking

Paints a silent work of art

As smiles and sorrow mingle

In the whisper of a sigh

Shimmering in the twinkle

Of a tear within my eye

Janet Martin

Another Rainy Morning

There is a muted sorrow
In the darkly-tinted awning
Weeping on each field and furrow
On another rainy morning
Its gray approach is heavy
Like a heart of silent needing
As it presses on the levy
With its flow of silver bleeding

It draws a sigh from longing lips
And tunes a vague oppression
As consciousness of knowing grips
The heart into submission
For man with all its power and might
Cannot one raindrop tether
Or meet within the dead of night
To change the course of weather

Its slanted weeping tames the dust
Into a thousand rivers
While all mankind can do is trust
In heaven’s tender Giver
We clasp within our bosom
The ache of love and longing
As we listen to the music
Of another rainy morning

Janet~

...yes, another rainy morning!

Two

I’ve got two eyes
I’m glad I do
I’ve got two arms
With which to hold you
I’ve got two hands
To fold in prayer
But I’ve just got one heart
Handle it with care

I’ve got two ears
To hear what you say
Two legs and feet…
We’re just made that way
But somewhere within
Is our most tender part
We’ve all been given
Just one heart

A heart divided
Cannot make two
A heart once broken
Can never be new
If I give to you
My most vulnerable part
Will you be gentle?
For I just have one heart

Two lips to whisper
Or kiss you, my dear
Two arms for hugging
And holding you near
But somehow you’ve stolen
My most tender part
So remember, my darling
I just have one heart

Janet Martin

In Words....

Oh darling, why do you do what you do?
I’m not the same person when I’m not with you
You hear what I tell you but words cannot say
As I hear you whisper in the very same way

There’s nothing better than looking at you
To hear what you’re saying in eyes of true-blue
I’m not quite sure why but somehow I know
What you say with your eyes and I love you so

I’ve tried to write you a letter or two
But honestly, I’d rather just look at you
And let you read everything I cannot say
And I’ll listen to you in the very same way

Poetry is powerful and words have their days
But I’ll take the resonance of your true-blue gaze
Darling, I’d tell you in words if I could
And if you were here with me, well maybe I would…

J~

With One Ear Tuned...

We cannot sleep as those who have not held or once caressed
A wee babe and rocked them, cradled closely to our breast
Beneath the glow of evening star or wisp of lambent moon
Beyond the sighing of the pines or night-birds as they croon
Above the song of breezes as they stir the woodland deep
We listen for our children until they are asleep

We cannot sleep as those who’ve never soothed with hugs or prayer
The child who weeps because he woke from a fearsome nightmare
Once we were young and tiptoed in; for fear the chiming clock
Should rouse the parent who was tuned to hear the faintest walk
And as the nighttime wraps the earth in shadows dark and deep
I slumber lightly now until my children are asleep


Janet~

Miracles Happen

Just when you’re thinking that miracles don’t happen
They do
Right in the middle of life plain and mundane
There’s You
And all we need is to open our eyes
And it doesn’t take long to realize
The world is brimming and bountiful
And overflowing with miracles

The bud that was tightly sealed yesterday
Softly unfolds
A miracle revealed in breath-taking display
For mankind to behold
A small child’s warm arms wrap around us so tight
The breeze parts the clouds to release brilliant sunlight
We see heaven’s glory mirrored in a smooth puddle
And know it can only be a miracle

In the face of tragedy mankind must respond
And they do
As countless miracles abound
Seen only by You
Love reminds us that it will not fail
The past is behind us and cannot prevail
You are still compassionate and merciful
Showering us tenderly with miracles

Janet~

Not a Movie

I won’t cry
What good would it do?
Life is not a movie
I know it’s true
But I like happy endings
When the story is through
And all I can say for now is….
‘Take two’

I won’t cry
It’s not over yet
We’re somewhere in the middle
Of joy and regret
And nobody knows
Where the next scene will be
As I hear the Director saying
‘Take three’

I won’t cry
For what good are tears?
They cannot change one picture
Or bring back the years
We hoped would last forever
Now it cuts me to the core
As I hear a Voice saying,
‘Take four’

I won’t cry
We are not at The End
This is not good-by
Time is not foe or friend
I could use a scene
With a quiet country drive
And you next to me…
‘Take five’

Janet Martin

Pieces

Little pieces of you touch me
Soft whispers laughing in my ear
Geography tells me you’re gone
But you’re still near

I touch you in a thousand moments
It’s the way of love, I guess
A soothing, aching torment
Or a somnolent caress

Little pieces of you touch me
For no matter what I do
You are here in tender fragments
Those little pieces of you….

Janet Martin

When our friends moved they blessed us with boxes full of
Pieces of their life…
I was cleaning the stove and realized how often I think of them/ pray
Because of the little pieces they’ve left for us to touch.
Who knew a bottle of house-hold cleaner would be a prayer-reminder!
Collin, when you said ‘just take it’ you didn’t realize how often these gifts would remind me to pray! Jane, the food, the make-up, the bath products etc… your popcorn bowl!!
are little pieces of you!
Hope all is well.