Charade...

Someday…
I will shake your hand
And introduce myself

I will let you see
A little of
The other side of me

And hope you understand
When I invite you to meet
My family

And I will tell you just a bit
Of what I love
And where I’m from

I may even ask your name
And 'have you
Lived here long?'

I’ll pretend that I don’t know
The sorrows of your life
…or your desire

And you will be
So kindly polite
As you inquire

About my life
And you’ll pretend
You never knew...

...then I’ll reply
Playing the part of
‘Stranger’ too



J~

Ten

There you were…
All arms and legs and giggles
And fanciful

There you were…
Looking at the world
Through the eyes of beautiful

There you were…
Weaving a trail
Of sunshine on this rainy day

There you were…
Bare-feet… and pony-tail
In wild disarray

There you were…
Sweeter than the top
Of a blueberry muffin

There you were…
Sun-dress, flip-flops
Aren’t you somethin’?

There you were…
The most precious creature
In the whole, wild world

You are ten
And you’re so beautiful
…little girl

Janet!

Victoria had a friend sleep over last night…
They just padded through the kitchen…
…two leggy little squirts
of sunshine, giggles…and just awake hair:)

Thank-you, God.

When I See You #2

When I see you
Walking toward me
With your familiar stride

When I see the life-lines
On your face
Reality jolts inside

When I see the pensive gaze
Stare beyond me
To relinquished dreams

When I see your fingers
Softly graze
Time’s unrelenting streams

When I see you ponder
Your life
And the course thereof

…I can’t help but wonder
Are you happy?
And in love…


J~

Thoughts...

The spirit wilts beneath criticism…
Like flowers in the blazing sun

Love cannot thrive under cynicism
Words are not quickly undone...

Silence is stunning grief
…after the onslaught of wrath

…yet often there is no relief
In its sorrowful after-math

There are only two kinds of tears...
Yours and mine

Though the song of summer and years
Sounds like crying sometimes...

We return…each to our own gardens
Like the bird to its nest

It is not hard to imagine
You…with your head on my chest

Like a raindrop creasing a puddle
A splash; it disappears

…so it is with moments
And laughter…and years

J~

No Return...

They come…they pass
To deck the grass
Where once fore-fathers bled
A breath, a sigh
A tear-dimmed eye
A bowing of the head

A little toil
Handful of spoil
A little joy and strife
Before we face
The God of grace
And the measure of our life

No return
We cannot burn
A moment or a day
But we can cope
With one true Hope
That never fades away

How swift they pass
Our days as grass…
Soon lie in fields to burn
The path we tread
Leads not to the dead
But to a place of no return…

Janet~

When I See You

When I see You push the tresses
Of the deepened night awry
When the timid light caresses
The low border of the sky
When the sea of dazzling starlight
Fades into the azure blue
Oh, my Lord, I am reminded
There is none like You

When I see the gleaming wheat fields
Where the dormant sod had been
And I see the fruit that earth yields
From the orchard, bent and green
When I see the bud awaken
By the nudging of the sun
My faith in You remains unshaken
Oh Lord,like You there's none

Season folding over season
Tears and laughter deck this sod
And I cannot find one reason
To deserve the love of God
Though life’s disappointment tests me
Though the drought may parch the land
Still I see You, God of mercy
When I cannot understand

When I see the earth surrender
To the seasons You ordain
When I see Your love so tender
Wash away sin’s wretched stain
When I gaze up to the heavens
To its vault of ethereal blue
Then remember…I’m forgiven
I cry, Lord, there’s none like You

Janet~

Night Song...

Late night stillness, sing to me
Notes of dew upon thy sigh
Sweep life’s cares out to the sea
In your turquoise lullaby

In the fading of this day
Fold upon thy ruddy breast
Dappled shadows, clouds of gray
Ere we hasten to our rest

Let the fern beside the brook
And the green leaf on the tree
Shade the deep and darkened nook
While we pause and list to thee

Bold, bright flowers bow their heads
Timid blossoms shut their eyes
While the night its glory sheds
In softened, moon-dimmed lullabies

Late night quiet, quell the throes
Of forbidden dreams profound
As the tear of midnight flows
Mingling with the dew-kissed ground

Late night stillness, sing to me
A melody, of star-lit spire
Longing, love and poetry
Throbbing in thy midnight choir

Soothe the weary, aching limb
Kiss the sad and downcast eye
For thine is such a tender hymn
Falling softly from the sky

Late night stillness, sing to me
Songs no words or tongue can form
A drowsy, haunting melody
Angling through a silent storm…

J~

Complexities

It is one thing…
It is a million things…
It is the breaking of a heart
…and its healing
It is ecstasy…
…and agony
It is life's heaviest burden
…and its greatest blessing
It is desire…
…and fulfillment
We live for it…
…and for it we die
To receive it…
…we must give it
It may fill us…
…yet, we can never get enough
So complex...
...yet, astoundingly simple
…we call it…
Love

Janet~