A Melody

The wind rushes from the sky tonight
In a forlorn melody
While flickering shadows and moonlight
Add their oblique harmony

The waves, pastel-tinted at sunset
Deepen to a murky blue
An ebbing and flowing sonnet
Of love and longing and you

The wind rushes from the sky tonight
Moving effortlessly
To draw the darkness across the light
And moments between you and me

J~

Powerless

If I could gather summer’s hours
Into baskets like wild flowers
Then I would, oh, you know that I would
If I could gather moments too
The haunting, taunting thoughts of you
I’d pluck them like wild flowers if I could

But summer is a whisper slipping by on nimble fingers
Summer is an hour, maybe two
And there’s no way to gather you or summer’s hastening footsteps
Disappearing into evenings languid hue

If I could gather summer’s twilight
And its misty, moody midnight
Then I would, oh, you know that’s what I’d do
I’d fill my arms with faded flowers
Trying to re-capture hours
That have vanished; full of moments, summer, you

For summer’s eager yearning glances by with no returning
And all that I can do is watch it pass
Like a child, restless and dreaming, racing to a twilight gleaming
Over moments tossed like flowers on the grass

If I could gather you and hold you
Kiss you, hug you, keep you, scold you
Then I would, oh, you know that’s what I’d do
But you’re eager as the summer
Dashing, leaping to the future
As I watch and smile and shed a tear or two

For childhood is a summer, far too soon its dance is over
As its echo trembles in the autumn dew
Darling, give me just one hour for I do not have the power
To hold back the summer or my want of you

Janet~

Almost Nothing

It was really nothing…
At least for a moment or two
Though it tore at my inner being
With a force, savage and blue

It was really nothing
But it left a ragged tear
On the fringe of every heart beat
To remind me it was there

It was really nothing
Oh, it is almost true
Though I staggered momentarily…
…it was merely a thought of you

J~

The End of our Day

At the end of the day when the miles we have wandered
Slumber forever in the mist of the past
When every action and thought has been tendered
To pages and pictures that cannot be re-cast
When words like small seeds have been spoken and scattered
And time alone will reveal their true worth
Will we have tended to the things that mattered?
As we reach the end of our day here on earth

Janet~

Without a Sound...

Thought tears up the sky
And traverses oceans
It touches upon heaven
And the fringes of hell
The eye is a window
Concealing a prison
Where silent thought ravages
An ivory cell

Thought weeps in the midnight
And breathes on the morning
It wanders the pathways
Of joy and regret
Flashes of lightning
And storms without warning
Splay across moments
Where once we had met

In intimate whispers
And wild raging rivers
Comfort and sorrow
Rise and fall on a floor
Where jagged reminders
And faltering quivers
Echo a ballad
That is no more

J~

Our Children

They drop their playthings on the floor
They spill the milk and slam the door
They scatter socks and toys and clothes
They smudge the windows with their nose

They leave crumbs to kiss our feet
While asking what there is to eat
They ask for money and for stuff
But they never ask for love

They ask for keys with sweetest smile
They drive us crazy for a while
They begin so very small
Then suddenly they’re standing tall

Nothing upon the face of this earth
Holds in its palm a greater worth
Than our children; as we hold them
Softly and tenderly we begin to mold them

Have you told your children you love them today?
Did you hold them close, oh, and did you pray?
Did you tell them they’re special, that boy or wee girl
Did you kiss the future of this world?

To waste time with a child is impossible
For they are this earth’s most important people
Yes, they forget things; we did too
But oh, we love them, we sure do

Janet~

Of Simple Things

I’m lover of simple things, it’s true
Of butterfly wings and the color blue
Of the way your eyelids brush your cheek
When you are a little too shy to speak

I am a lover of the fingers of night
Pushing away the flamboyant light
I’m a lover of the sullen rain
The newborn calf, the windswept lane

I’m lover of spring and summer and fall
The uncertainty in your voice when you call
I’m lover of the dawn brushed heavy with dew
The season’s songs, the night and you

I’m lover of simple things, its true
Strawberry blossoms are poetry too
Fingertips as they brush my skin
Cheeks that dimple when you grin

Freckles splashed upon your nose
Dandelion stains on your clothes
Chubby hands and small bare feet
White-washed sands and pebble beach

If I could choose from all life brings
I would choose its simple things
God, never let me be too busy to see
The simple gifts you place around me

Janet~

While Having My Morning Coffee...

Darkness creeps languorously away from the dawn
A soft breeze wanders across the lawn
Possibilities breathe upon the air
Drawing from me, a wordless prayer

Daylight wavers on the landscapes brink
In trembling quivers of coral and pink
Somewhere past this line of view
Is another world full of people…and you

Feathered throat and green-laden tree
Merge in a rushing symphony
Arousing in me an intangible Presence
Of Power and Hope and wistful essence

Coffee is simply a minor detail
As I behold dawn’s miracle
Sheening the meadow and fading the mist
As earth’s drowsy eye-lids are heaven-kissed

Janet~



Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.” Lam.3:22-24