Blue

I would paint tonight if I could, with you
For it is such a perfect night
But silence does not have a true shade of blue
Charcoal and gray do not capture it quite
They have not yet created the essence of mist
Lying on pastures, too timid for streets
The air has a subtle and piquant twist
The wind lulls the insomniac counting sheep
And I trace the outline of you with a brush
Determined to give it my uttermost try
But I cannot capture the somnolent hush
Or the night, in the soft gaze of your eye
I would paint tonight, if I could, with you
For it is not good to be alone
But the night is unwilling to be captured in blue
And blue is the only color I own

Janet~

Mustard Seed

Lord, I can think of countless things
That qualifies as need
But oh God, more than anything
I need a mustard seed

I know that I lack wisdom Lord
But before I ask
I need a tiny little seed
To fit me for the task

For faith small as mustard seed
Can bring a mountain low
It is enough to fill each need
God, You have told me so

Do not let me waver, Lord
‘Like waves upon a sea
Driven by the wind and tossed’
I need a mustard seed

From just one tiny little seed
Begins the tallest tree
And faith sustains us in each need
If it is fixed on Thee

Janet~

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.
For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea
Driven by the wind and tossed. James 1:6

Already Written

We do not make life happen
God knows the who and the why
He knew that you would fit perfectly
Into the shape of my life
Ours was no chance meeting
He knew it would happen one day
Oh, what a wonderful feeling
To know He is watching always

God knew before our first breath
What day our birthday would be
He knows the minute of our death
As we step into eternity
With Him there is no unexpected
Our days are writ by His hand
And all of the wise will respect it
And reverently heed His command

Sometimes I wonder the reason
But I do not question the Giver
Some loves are but for a season
And some abide forever
Ours was no chance meeting
Whatever will be He can see
For all of our days were written, love
Before one of them came to be

Janet~


Your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were written
in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:16

Sometimes life's ordinary moments
are the extra-ordinary ones in retrospect...

Summer's Large Morning

The world seems larger on a summer’s morn
Making me glad that I was born
A spacious room swept bright and clean
With yellow plume and vivid green

Here is a world untainted by longing
Compassion unfurled in summer and morning
Yesterday’s shortcomings sleep in the dust
Today is beckoning me to trust

Wind caresses skin, sun kisses my face
And so begins another day of grace
In the heart’s silence stirs a seed
Of purposed resilience and mutual need

Faint as the breezes skimming the brook
Summer teases in every nook
The blue sky is pearled with clouds of white
In summer’s large world I take delight


(Last two verses optional)
The shadow of the willow tree stirs a sigh
Daring the unshed tear in my eye
Like a rogue wind frustrating the sea
You leap to my mind in a memory

But the world is larger on a summer’s morn
As kind as the hour when love is born
From the tenderness of its fingertips
It pulls a smile across my lips

Janet~

Whole New World

Summer dusk gathers the remnant of day
Into her dark blue eyes
Night begins where the fading away
Of a sunset softly dies

The breezes shearing the dew-darkened lane
Arouses an earthy passion
Mingling with the scent of an afternoon rain
And dampened apple blossom

The hollow place just beneath the hill
Is obscured by slumbering air
Where unkempt gardens wildly spill
Like children with no care

She draws her knees up to her chin
Looks to the skies above
Inhaling the serenity and drinking it in
Like the evidence of love

Janet~

Lilacs

Sprouting from the palm of trouble and dirt
Beneath the sun and the rain
Softening the edges of pleasure and hurt
Breathing on laughter and pain
The lilacs are blooming again

Knurled and scraggly, its humble limb
Weathers the century
Stoically enduring the passage of time
For a moment of vernal glee
Bathed in a purple sea

Boldly, flaunting her fragrant gown
Her beauty is lavish and wild
Spilling the froth of her scented crown
To remind you of when you were a child
And the very same lilac tree smiled

Janet~

Lilacs

Sprouting from the palm of trouble and dirt
Beneath the sun and the rain
Softening the edges of pleasure and hurt
Breathing on laughter and pain
The lilacs are blooming again

Knurled and scraggly, its humble limb
Weathers the century
Stoically enduring the passage of time
For a moment of vernal glee
Bathed in a purple sea

Boldly, flaunting her fragrant gown
Her beauty is lavish and wild
Spilling the froth of her scented crown
To remind you of when you were a child
And the very same lilac tree smiled

Janet~

Suddenly, in an Afternoon

There are no singular moments
I cannot isolate one from the rest
Tucking it away; to save until tomorrow
Nor can I preserve them; though with ink I might try
Life is the master of re-arranging
Moments; folding them, one over another
Until they become days and years
And suddenly here I am in an afternoon in June
Where the wind drops in a sudden lull
And my heart is achingly full
Of the memory of moments
… With you

J~

That's the Thing about Love

I know, feelings are just feelings
They come; they go
But some days feelings move me
And darling, you seem to know
How to reach deep down inside me
And make those feelings flow

You are a soft rain at midnight
You are the sun on the sea
You are a fair-weather morning
And a prayer inside of me
You are a perfect love song
Playing so tenderly

Yes, feelings are just feelings
Some days I don’t get them right
But then a memory comes stealing
To that place so deep inside
Where you touch me without touching
And I cannot put up a fight

You are a wild storm raging
You are the ache in my tear
You are the wound that is bleeding
Where love and longing sear
Oh, you are more than a feeling
So much more, my dear

You are a vortex of desire
A sweet, silent torment
You are a slow-burning fire
Keeping me warm; content
You are much more than a feeling
You are heaven-sent

J~

Offering

It is all I can give you
Do with them what you may
You may choose to believe me
Or brush them away

Stuff can be appealing
But it is still simply ‘stuff’
It does not relate to feeling
Longing or love

Words are the only thing
I can offer to you
Words like ‘oh darling
I love you’

Janet~

Bidding May Adieu

On another day it will not be May
As all the apple-blossoms fling
Their gowns and tulips fade away
To deck the grass of yesterday
And spring

On another day it will not be May
And the clouds which snuff the moon
Keeping it dark tonight
Will be lazy and summer white
In June

On another day it will not be May
As we embrace this new-comer
And kiss her pretty face because
Midst fair-flowered applause
Comes summer

Janet~

I love June!