The Way of Life

…like the child that still I see
Lingering on astringent air
Where once she wandered fancy-free
With no thought of woe or care
…you disappear

I had thought perhaps this time
It might have seemed that you would stay
Too reluctant yet to climb
Into the blue vault far away
…and disappear

I want not to covet it
The pleasure that you bring to me
But oh, I do, a little bit
Won’t you stay and sing to me
…before you disappear?

The garden shows the traces now
Of quickened step and purple sigh
The sun-flower and the wheat-fields bow
Beneath the murmur of the sky
…and then they disappear

Once I held you close to me
Kissed your soft and velvet cheek
But like the child of yesterday
Life has gardens yet to seek
…and so you disappear

The wave dissolves upon the sand
The shadow melts into the air
I reach out to touch your hand
And caress you with a prayer
...as you disappear


J~

Just Looking...

‘May I help you?’ she politely asked
‘Is there anything you can’t find?’
And I smiled a little wryly
Glad she couldn’t read my mind
As I replied ‘No thank-you’
As politely as could be
‘I really am just looking…
Just looking, yes, that’s me…

Just looking at your strong physique
And wishing I was young
Your mannerism, suave and sleek
Assurance on your tongue
A natural bounce with every stride
Your smile, a pleasant glow
Youth brimming up from the inside
…and you don’t even know…

New goals draw you from your sleep
Dreams sparkle in your eye
Reality will never keep
A dream from passing by
Life spreads out before you
In a thousand different ways
And you don’t even think about
The swift passing of days…

‘May I help you?’ she politely asked
I shook my head and smiled…
Funny…at her age I was all grown up
But she is still a child…
‘No, perhaps another day’
I quelled a wistful sigh
There are things we might wish for
But money cannot buy…

Janet~

YES, I KNOW!!!
‘To everything there is a time and a season…’

Breathless with Anticipation...

I love you, oh, I love you
You’re in everything I do…
I’m counting all the minutes
Until I’m alone with you

You center every breath I take
My heart races in delight
Because I know that I will be
Alone with you tonight…

There is no anticipation
That can compare to this
I tremble with elation
At the thought of your caress

I think of all the little things
That I should like to tell
And try to imagine all the words
You’ll say to me as well

Too long the dismal hours
Betwixt the now and then
Oh, and I can hardly wait
Until we are alone

There’s nothing in the whole wide world
That I would rather do
Than lean upon your shoulder
And be alone with you...

...with nothing to distract me
From my time alone with you….
Oh God, you see the heart of me…
…oh God, I wish this was true
Oh God, I wish this was true

Janet~

How do we look forward to
Our time with Him?

Love

It’s not perfect
Darling, yes, I know
We could point out endless flaws…
…and we have, a time or two
I don’t know what 'they' call it
Those experts with degrees
But we call it love
Now, don’t we?

It’s not very fancy
And it sure isn’t cool
But we are in it for the long run
Love can be so cruel
If we relinquish tenderness
Appeasing selfish words
But we still call it love, dear
Even when it hurts

Seems these days nobody knows
Its meaning or its worth
Trading it like any other
Commodity of earth
Darling, love’s a beauty
But it takes another form
Beyond the call of duty
It’s a shoulder in life’s storm

…and when the war of words has stilled
And all that yet remains
Is a pair of stubborn wills
And self-inflicted pain
Love reaches to the other
There is nothing left to prove…
But to forgive and love forever
Oh darling…this is love

J~

Intertwined

I never need to summon you
You are always near
Leaning on my heart of hearts
Or whispering in my ear

It seems that I cannot control
When or where you’ll be
Do you torment or console
Me with your memory

The sparkle of light, the shadow of grief
Are deeply intertwined
And darling,there is no reprieve
From the shades of the heart or mind


J~

Somwhere in the Middle...

Summer’s sweet dog-days
Are slipping softly by
Her warm and mellow gaze
Is a winsome lullaby
And sometimes I pause abruptly
So happy…and so sad
Because I’m somewhere in the middle
Of the best I’ve ever had

Somewhere in the middle
Of a song of tears and smiles
I can’t help but sigh a little
At the swiftness of love’s miles
As the glimmer of a summer
Weaves its sonnets, mournful; glad
Because I’m somewhere in the middle
Of the best I’ve ever had

Somewhere in the middle
Of laughing and crying
Scolding, holding
Dreaming and sighing
Waiting and praying
As I love and laugh and live
I’m somewhere in the middle
Of the best this life can give…


I’m somewhere in the middle
Of the summer of my life
I’ll gladly bear a little
Of my share of joy or strife
Too soon the winds of winter
Will moan o’er my silent grave
I’m somewhere in the middle
Of the best I’ll ever have

Somewhere in the middle
Of love’s sad and sweet caress
Somewhere on a pinnacle
Of grief and happiness
I would never trade them
The good times or the bad
For they are softly weaving
The best I’ve ever had

Janet~

Special Gift

The landscape is threaded with burnished hues
Of golden-brown and green
August softens her deep-denim blues
In a hazy, sweltering sheen
Rivers of Queen Anne’s Lace and Blue Strife
Flow over wearying sod
Pictures of beauty and longing and life
In gardens tended by God

Locust-song spars with the muted lay
Of a lazy, late after-noon
Willow tree arches bend and sway
To its warm and mystic tune
As August with subtle finger steals
From beneath my wanton gaze
The richness from its rolling fields
In a long and drawn-out haze

Daylight succumbs an hour too soon
There is nothing I can do
But kiss each morning and afternoon
Before I bid them adieu
Wading through rivers of wild-flower bliss
And ditches of golden-rod
Knowing full-well that August is
A special gift from God

Janet~

There is only one thing I hate about August...
...it passes far too quickly.
I revel in it
gloriously,
thankfully,
whole-heartedly,
with a silent and perpetual lament...

Oceans...

There are times we neglect
To feel the moments we are in
But tonight I feel them keenly
In the murmur of the wind
And waves that melt into dusk’s helm
A pink metallic sheet
Reaching to the distant realm
And over my bare feet

I feel a blend of gold and blue
Clutching the remains
Of an afternoon with you
Beneath time’s loosened chains
Fading into the molten deep
Where cloud caresses sea
And all that I have left to keep
Are bits of memory

Tonight, I feel a languid tune
Rushing out to clutch
Life’s brevity; a restless croon
With haunting, tender touch
The endlessness of vaulted skies
The vastness of the sea
Are enormities that are dwarfed tonight
By oceans inside of me…

J~