Something...........

My arms run over with sorrow,
My mind runs over with joy
I've seen the hope for tomorrow
In the eyes of a wee girl or boy
I cannot name all my blessings
Or the things that make me glad
But oh, why the sudden wrenching
Over the thing I never had...........

I cannot dare to hunger
As I draw my loved ones near
Their love makes me stronger
Then why the sudden tear?
Why, in a tender moment
Do I hear it, haunting and sad?
A melody of torment
Over that which I never had..........

It drifts on the horizon
Across a turquoise sea
Notes of grief and passion
In aching harmony
I've had much more than I deserve
In this I'm humbly glad
Heaven holds in grand reserve
The thing I never had


Janet~

If life were perfect....
who would desire heaven?

All Because......

He’s tired most of the time, it seems
He slowly let go of those boyhood dreams
He’s busy now with demands and things
All because he fell in love with a woman
His golf clubs are hooks in the old tool shed
He swings a little girl from his knee instead
Another mouth joins them to be fed
All because he fell in love with a woman

Who knew heaven on earth would be
An old stone house and a willow tree
Or that weariness could be so sweet
All because he fell in love with a woman
So what if there are more bills than money
You can’t buy love or a darling honey
Even in the rain it’s a little sunny
All because he fell in love with a woman

There’s no such thing as a fool-proof plan
Car-wrecks and dental bills, a worn-out van
And yet, he is sure he’s a most blessed man
All because he fell in love with a woman
One day at a time is all he can bear
He lives on love, a pay-check and prayer
But you won’t find a happier man anywhere
All because he fell in love with a woman

No Picasso on his study walls
Crayola artwork decks fridges and halls
With a family portrait; the best of them all
Because he fell in love with a woman
He doesn’t miss those faded dreams
In his eyes a deeper contentment gleams
Heaven is pleasure in every day things
All because he fell in love with a woman


All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Moment.....

One little moment
Does it really matter?
This tiny, insignificant thing
A tick of the clock
A breath in the air
One note in a song that we sing

But the tick becomes minutes
And minutes, then hours
A soft breath becomes two, then three
Each breath a heartbeat
That becomes a lifetime
Before eternity

The note that hovers
For a second or two
Forms a grand symphony
A moment, a moment
It slips from our view
One strand in our life’s tapestry

One little moment
May seem on its own
Tiny, worthless and trite
But moment by moment
Priceless measure
That softly becomes a life

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Moments matter!!

It Must Be Christmas....

Children’s laughter fills the air
Hearts beat lighter as we hear
Baby hugs his teddy bear
Oh it must be Christmas
Candle glow and firelight
Decorations twinkling bright
What a perfect silent night
Oh it must be Christmas……again

Snowflakes dancing to the earth
Heralding a Savior’s birth
Baby Jesus songs are heard
Oh, it must be Christmas
Memories of seasons past
Glow upon the fire-place
Reflecting in our eyes and face
Oh, it must be Christmas again

Candy-canes and ginger-bread
Poinsettia blooming, brilliant red
Tuck away that silent dread
Oh, it must be Christmas
Bells and stars and little trees
Cookie cutter memories
Melt like shortbread, one more please
Oh, it must be Christmas again

Hearts beat lighter for awhile
Hope shines brighter in each smile
As we meet our inner child
Oh, it must be Christmas
Season of remembering
Birth of Jesus, baby King
Come and join us as we sing
Oh it must be Christmas….again

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

We were decorating the tree the other night
when suddenly one of my daughters asked me
Mom, are you happy or sad?
'Well', I replied, 'I guess a little of both.
I just cannot believe that it is Christmas ....again.
I honestly feel like we just did this and it
reminds me again of how fast little moments
melt into years and lifetimes!!!

Of Memory...

More powerful than a hurricane
Or storm upon the sea
Is the passion and the pain
Of memory..........
The wind may rage
The rain may pound
Memory plagues
Without a sound

Janet~

Madness....

It seems intentions cannot compete
With the madness of desire
It seems that I cannot delete
The fuel that fans the fire
It seems that I must write instead
For better or worse, forever
It keeps me sane, yet drives me mad
The love of pen and paper

Janet~
I keep telling the kids
I’m going to take a break from writing……
Soon,

Perimeters.....

But the cold, harsh truth
blew across the landscape this morning
lodging unabashedly
where it is most keenly felt............
within
The wind may blow in its wildest fury
but it cannot alter boundaries
written in stone
Words flow from a pen silently
but the perimeters of sorrow or joy
are not over-thrown
nor the laws of love and longing
borne quietly,
alone

Janet~

Black and White Night

The silence is amplified tonight
The world is a canvas of black and white
Broken here and there by a pale twinkling light
Dimmed by the falling snow
Alone is such a lonesome word
But the frosty stillness somehow stirred
And magnified that solemn word
Alone, alone, alone


Janet~

The kids will soon be home:)

Actually, after 'lively Friday'
a little bit of 'alone' is...Bliss:)

Enough..............

The pride and passions of a man
Soon lies dormant in the dust
How quick he treads this briefest span
Of trial and error, love and lust
How fickle is our greatest plan
How brief the mortal thing we trust

There is a higher goal above
Where wiser man may fix his gaze
A higher purpose for his love
A higher calling for his days
Assurance it will be enough
When comes the parting of our ways

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Please Wait......

Please wait…..says the screen as my dial-up internet
Struggles to reach its destiny
Wait……. for what? I ask, a little impatiently
Wait while the day stretches its arms
Toward the evening sky……..
While the wind in vapid charms
Croons an early lullaby?
Wait, while hearts break as love
Succumbs to early graves
Or while we fight back
Lest we become victims or slaves………..

Please wait…..wait while little baby
Grows up and flies away
And little girl becomes a lady
While I whisper….oh, please wait
Wait, as the rose-bud blooms
Weeping withered petals at my feet
And I go searching for its perfume
On a dark and lonely street
Wait, while raven locks turn white
And wisdom crowns the brow
That is now so smooth and bright
In all her dazzling youthful glow
Wait, while she will tell me
How it’s done in the today
For somehow I grew old-fashioned
In all the ‘waits’ along the way

Please wait………while life divides its portions
Of joy, sorrow, victory and defeat
Please wait, the rise and falling of the ocean
Does not wane within the beat
That marks the silent ticks of time
Upon a turquoise swell
Nor writes how far we still must climb…..
Only One can tell
Please wait……while I live, laugh, love, weep
Hold on and let go
I have hands to hold and promises to keep
Oh, please wait until I’ve told you
That I love you so

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Not So Very Long Ago....

Not so very long ago
Flowers laughed beneath our feet
Daisies bloomed white as the snow
That now lines every hill and street

Not so very long ago
Genial freedom fueled our dreams
Before the half-extinguished glow
Of bittersweet remembering

No so very long ago
Love was vague unchartered bliss
Before life's verdant ebb and flow
Revealed the bloom beneath the kiss

Not so very long ago
We wore the fancied garb of Spring
But now the fields are decked with snow
And bittersweet remembering

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Year.....

Her name doth not bespeak her guild
Her triumph and her tear
She, both tender and strong-willed
We simply call her Year…….
Just a small four-letter word
To sum a twelve-month span
Not a hint of joy or hurt
That Year doth bring to man
We ponder as we stand upon
The remnant of her veil
For soon another Year is gone
Her eye is growing pale
Upon the brink we cannot see
The hand of her successor
But she will follow faithfully
Her silent predecessor
As we, with sentimental tear
Whisper a soft farewell
She slips away, another Year
Where to, no one can tell
Her bosom bears the moments where
We wept our bitter tears
Or uttered our profoundest prayers
Releasing our fears
She carries on her pallid brow
Each kiss, each word, each sigh
For no one can retrieve it now
In her soundless good-bye
With her she takes each tick of time
That formed her every limb
From mortal visage she will climb
Into the shadows dim
Farewell to her grand victory
Farewell to cruel defeat
We hear across the rolling sea
Her echo, bittersweet
Farewell to all her fleeting gain
Farewell to all her sorrow
Never shall we meet again
Its burdens then to borrow
Farewell oh bearer of all things
Our smile, our song, our tear
The rise and fall of temporal kings
With you must disappear
As we, with unrequited dreams
Silently watch you go
Within our eye a new hope gleams
For in her leave we know
A pure untarnished Year doth wait
A glimpse of hope and cheer
And so we linger at the gate
To greet another Year

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Janet Martin

Yes, it is a month early...
sometimes I think better
'ahead of Time'
(no pun intended:):)

Companion...........

You’re with us from the moment
We wake up at light of day
Until we’re fast asleep at night
You never go away
Sometimes you drive us crazy
And sometimes you make us sad
You torment and inspire
Leave us lonely, drive us mad

You never seem to go away
And if ever you do
Then we no longer care to live
We’re nothing without you
Sometimes you plague us sorely
And sometimes you comfort too
Our constant in the morning
Until waking hours are through

We never really see you
Yet we see you everywhere
In every little thing we do
We know that you are there
For we become what first you are
By you our hands are taught
Oh, may we keep you good and pure
For action first is Thought

Yes, Thought is with us everywhere
He is both wise and fool
But we can keep Thought healthy
With a very simple tool
To think of Jesus first of all
And other people’s needs
For action is the fruit of Thought
As Thought plants little seeds

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Janet Martin

It Is Done...........

Across time’s vast and rolling surge
I hear a song; a mournful dirge
Like a lonesome tolling knell
Farewell, ye by-gone year, farewell
Hear its low and solemn tone
It is done, it is done

Clasp its sonnet to your breast
As its trembling cadence rests
Deep within the darkened urn
Where good and ill cannot return
Its only trace the seed it’s sown
It is done, it is done

I hear a tremor on the breeze
It lingers in the barren trees
Slipping through my fingers, gone
The notes that tune tomorrow’s song
Hear the echo, distant moan
It is done, it is done

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Not That Far.....

Perhaps the sky is weeping and gray
And there’s a world of it twixt you and I
Love is unhindered; you are not far away
Love leaps across each lonely mile
There is no fixed perimeter
Where love must be sadly constrained
It takes its flight in thought and prayer
It cannot be caught or restrained

Darling, wherever you are today
Miles cannot separate
They are simply geography
On road maps that we create
But it has nothing to do with love
No matter what road maps say
I feel you near me as I move
No, you are not too far away

Life has many twists and turns
We cannot see past today
Those things for which the spirit yearns
Often seem far away
But when it comes to love, my dear
Its essence wings 'cross the gray
And in its flight it draws you near
No, you are not too far away

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

New Jacket

I see you are sporting a new jacket tonight
You're feeling quite fine in your new coat of white
Well, I would love to compliment you
But my dear, it wouldn't be true
You see......I prefer you in green, even blue
In fact, almost ANY other color would do
How about brown, gold, red, orange or black?
Could I persuade you to send your white coat back?

Janet~

I Love Green.....

The fields lie fast asleep tonight
Beneath a blanket cold and white
Glistening beauty; tranquil scene
But my dilemma…I love green

I’m trying hard to view this night
With an open-minded sight
Sparkling kingdom, still, serene
I can’t help it….I love green

Oh, it’s a silent night tonight
A flawless planet robed in white
But I recall a kinder scene
Where the night was warm and green

The fields and trees are clad in white
Yes, it is a pretty sight
only a hundred and twelve days until spring!
…and all the lovely shades of green

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Chit-chat.....

Sometimes it seems I keep talking
To avoid the inevitable
I’ll talk about the weather
Things, places and people
I won’t look right at you
Or meet your solemn eye
Because I’m not quite ready yet
To hear you say good-bye

Janet~

Word Pictures......

There are few things
Which I enjoy better
Than viewing a painting
With the art of a letter
For letters arranged
Turn into a word
And the scenes they create
Leave the senses stirred
There’s nothing comparable
To move me, I find
Like a picture that’s painted
Upon a mind

Janet~

November Skies....

Beneath your drooping leaden eyes
The earth in gray surrender lies
Poised in cold expectancy
Knowing soon what is to be
The trickle of a frosty tear
Garnishes a fading year

The sapphire gaze of summer-past
Is dark and gray in eyes down-cast
The summer heart in empathy
Returns your sad melancholy
But oh, we know we will not cry
There’s beauty in this lullaby

A reckless wantonness ignites
Within your charcoal, smoldering sights
For what is to be must be….
You fling aside your misery
And shower on the earth below
Your tears in diamonds made of snow

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Janet Martin

We are ‘poised’ on the edge of a storm…….
The sky looks impatient……

Clenched Dream....

The landscape wears a close-shorn shroud
For now the fields of summer’s green
Lay barren ‘neath an iron cloud
Where once the toil of man was seen
And cornfield, stripped of cob and husk
Lies tight-lipped in the moody dusk
Where now the gale unhindered sweeps
From portals pale to silent deeps

Fair, lush, the meadows of July
Where lark and daisy reigned supreme
But now beneath a leaden sky
We view its terrace like a dream
The echo of a sun-kissed tune
Drifts soft and low across the dune
Wild, the wind that chills the turf
The waves of June, a muted surf

No more the song of trembling leaf
To grace the hour of twilight’s brim
The sigh becomes a moan of grief
As low-light keys the shadow dim
Beneath the half-moon, cobalt sky
November croons her lullaby
We hear it; as we stoke the fire
A song of clenched dream and desire

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

This Little Thing Called Love.....

It’s not by what we do or say
That we love or take it away
Things leave things for which we yearn
Love asks nothing in return
Love; I cannot quite explain
It’s tender pleasure, searing pain
And no one ever gets enough
Of this little thing called love

Love can please us and fulfill
It can tease us, it can thrill
It can break a heart in two
Like no other thing can do
It’s the one thing we all need
Things are merely quests of greed
And yet we cannot get enough
Of this little thing called love

Whether you are near to me
Or far across a rolling sea
Love is not a thing constrained
It can reach you just the same
Love, you make us laugh and weep
Useless as a thing to keep
And yet we cannot give enough
Of this little thing called love

It makes us want to live, to fly
But for it we too would die
It will nurture, it will heal
And yet it is the pain we feel
It is the sunshine in our sky
Yet it's the teardrop in our eye
Fulfilling yet never enough
It's a little thing called love

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Bad Boys.....

There’s no such thing as a bad boy
Oh, when they come into this world
They all are pure and precious
Red faces and little toes curled
But it seems that some are cheated
Out of things we need so much
And while everyone calls them bad boys
They’re crying for a loving touch

We all need to feel like we’re valued
Like we’re needed, with things to do
We all need a little patience
Some more than others, it’s true
We wouldn’t remove the mischief
Or even the naughtiness
They’re boys, and it is my belief
They’ll learn if given a chance

Some get cheated out of a mother’s arms
And dad never seems to be there
Some have never been told how much
They are loved just for who they are
There’s no such thing as a bad boy
But oh boy, it’s a bad world down here
And some of them learn it quickly because
They have no other choice, I fear

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

"It is my belief that
there is no such thing
as a bad boy...." Spencer Tracy in Boy's Town

Off-guard......

You caught me a little off guard today

As I was walking by

I paused; for your gaze, over-powering and gray

Suddenly captured my eye

And the tear in your sad eyes seemed to say

Good-bye sweet summer, good-bye

You caught me a little off-guard today

The trembling in your sigh

Wove through the limbs, barren and gray

A sad soliloquy

As the landscape joined in the solemn lay

Goodbye, sweet summer, good-bye

You caught me a little off-guard today

I thought I was over you

There is a certain raw beauty in gray

That cannot be found in blue

You caught me a little off guard today

As you bid summer adieu

Janet~

Eloquent......... in my Mind

There are so many things I would tell you, my dear
If only I could find
A way to move them to my tongue
Instead of to my mind

It seems when I try to tell you, my dear
It never comes out like it could
But oh, it would be so lovely to hear
If only it would sound like it should

There are so many things I would tell you, my dear
Tender and earnest and true
But it always comes out in the same way, my dear
In these three words; I love you

Janet~

Builder............

She knew she was strong
This builder of walls………
But oh, she was wrong
In her view of it all
For she built up around her
A wall strong and stout
Now it has bound her
And she cannot get out
She thought she was strong
But at the end of the day
She was not strong enough
To take it away

Janet~

Music in my Mind.....

In the early, early morning
There's a fondness in my eye
As I listen to the music
In the song of days gone by
Its trembling cadence thrills me
In a slow and mournful sway
And the beauty of it chills me
In the bitter-sweetest way
Who knew that notes of laughter
Of a heart-beat and a sigh
Could still be heard long after
Like a sonnet from the sky
Who knew that love and heartache
Are a duet intertwined
And the faint harmony of it
Oft will play within my mind

Janet~

Somebody's Love.....

He loved his mom’s apple strudel
His eyes were kind and blue
He loved a girl named Caroline
And oh, she loved him too
They were going to be married
As soon as the war was done
And maybe if they were lucky
Someday they would have a son……….

He always loved to play football
Was the high school quarter-back
He didn’t play for a medal
He just played for the love of it
And oh, how he loved his dog, Rover
Man’s best friend was his
Now Rover whimpers every night
And wonders where he is………

He was a generous fellow
He walked the second mile
When everybody else said no
He did it with a smile
But nobody knows his attributes
As he lies in the bloody snow
They’ve come to gather the fallen dead
…..here lies another John Doe

Beneath each cross in Flanders’ Field
Beneath the sound of a gun
Beneath the weapon or the shield
Is somebody's dear son
Beneath the watchful eye above
The dying fallen lie
Oh, pray for they are somebody’s love
…….for you and yours they die

Janet~
'son' is a generic term here.......
We pray for all the sons and daughters!

The Broad Spectrum.....

Some people call it sunshine
Some people call it rain
Some people call it dancing
And others call it pain
Some people call it thrilling
Some people call it strife
Some people call it nothing at all
And some just call it…….
Life

Janet~

On Winning.....

So you took one on the chin, my boy
An’ you’re tellin’ me this is it
Well, let me tell you one thing, my boy
Before you decide to quit
Life is a hard-fought battle, lad
But this is the sum of it
A quitter never wins, my lad
And a winner will never quit

Winning has nothing to do with the score
On the board at the end of a game
Winning, my boy is so much more
Than a number beside your name
If you give it your very best effort, my boy
Then this is the sum of it
You'll be a winner in life, my boy
For the winner will never quit

Janet~

Okay, guys, so you 'lost'
on Saturday.......
or did you?

The Way It Is......

Dawn draws the darkness out of the skies
Time steals the dream from the dreamer’s eyes
November rejects the sun’s warmest kiss
And I love you……..
That’s just the way it is

Children grow up and old people die
Today is tomorrow’s history
Pain is the flip-side of tender bliss
And I love you…………..
That’s just the way it is

New love is born; and some love fades away
Just as the morn slips into the day
Then day returns to night’s quietness
And I love you………..
That’s just the way it is

Time is a tender and torturous quadrille
Changing our scope with each turn of the wheel
Bittersweet slow-dance, moments I’ll miss
But I’ll always love you…..
That’s just the way it is

Janet~

All in a Day's Work

Pull out a drawer, dump out the blocks
Empty the colorful Kleenex box
Tip over the coffee, oh, what have I done?
There’s so much to do when you’re one

Sample the fruit, oh yes, every piece
Wash the window with my face
Tug at the flowers in beckoning bloom
There’s so much to do when you’re one

Master-mind that chair barricade
Climb over top of it or push it away
Dump out the snack, see? All done
There’s so much to do when you’re one

Tall folk lookin’ weary and not very charmed
I flash them my grin; they’re completely disarmed
Put toy in the vacuum vent, see? All gone
There’s so much to do when you’re one

Hide my shoes and pull off my socks
Look at the ‘moos’; find one in the toy box
Oh no, I feel a big nap comin’ on
Sure do get tired when you’re one

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Dedicated to the one-year-old
That I baby-sit

Cold Coffee.....

All that she asks for right now
Is just a corner of the sky
A little kiss upon her brow
From the breeze as it flits by
All she asks for is a book
A cup of coffee within reach
Perhaps the babble of a brook
Too much to wish for a whole beach
All she needs is one wee hour
Where vain duty is subdued
A little whisper from a flower
Oh, evasive solitude
Where did you go?
Oh yes, she knows……..
A little piece flew from this world
The day they told her ‘it’s a girl’
The little kiss upon her brow
Is given by her children now
The cup of coffee within reach
Grew cold; for Charlie found a leech
Her books have princes, trucks and trains
Instead of lovers and villains
The babble is from baby dear
The hours just somehow disappear……
Solitude is for all those others
Who have not yet become…..
Fathers and mothers

Janet~

Questions......

Will this earth be a better place?
Because its door-step I did grace
For a brief pittance of its span
Will there be a better man
Because of something I have done?
Or are these mere moments in a sun?
Will they miss me; will they weep?
Or whisper, at last she is asleep!

Janet~

Barricade......

Trees, you beautiful trees
Swaying in the morning breeze
Flowers, bright flowers, fit for a king
How you make a sad heart sing
Grass, green carpet of wanderlust
Covering acres and acres of dust
Hills, rolling hills, above rivers so blue
Sometimes I pause to gaze at you………………

………..wretched trees, wretched flowers
Wretched fields, wretched grass
Wretched breeze blowing
Over moments that pass
Wretched hills, wretched highway
Wretched water so blue
Wretched barricade
Between me and you

Janet~

Strong Enough............

I try not to,
But oh, my dear
Every now and then
I shed a tear
I'm blessed and I know it
But this time of year
I can't help but wish
That you were here
I try to be strong, love
But I guess you know
I'll never be strong enough
To let you go

Janet~

With Our Eyes.....

With tongue we speak, with hands we toil
With feet we walk and run
With lips we smile as we relive
Sweet moments in the sun
With arms we hold our loved ones close
With hearts we dearly love
With ears we hear the thunder roll
From darkened ports above
And with our eyes we see all this
And with our eyes we sleep
And with our eyes we shed our tears
Oh, with our eyes we weep
We weep for sorrow and for joy
In triumph or defeat
We weep in love and loneliness
A language bittersweet
We weep for loved ones out of reach
Or in life’s tug and pull
We weep in longing, loss and grief
Or when our cup is full
With hands we toil, with arms we hold
With lips we smile and kiss
With ears hear, with hearts we love
With minds we reminisce
But with our eyes we share our souls
The baring of the deep
With our eyes the ocean’s roll
Oh, with our eyes we weep

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin

Treasure...........

We cared once for things as these…………
The mighty ships, the wood of trees
Skyscrapers, bridges, the tower and plane
The high and the lowly, the quest for gain
We sought for answers, and meager delights
We worshipped; but One knows where we set those sights
We cared about beauty; the youthful and bold
Before cheeks were pallid and eyelids cold………..

Once, we strolled the golden sands
Controlled by duty and demands
Of great import these rulers then
We dreamed; revered the goals of men
Once, life held the master key
To hope and opportunity
We cared so much for much it seems
Yet all is naught as twilight gleams

We sought once for things called things
Believed in happiness of kings
If we could hoard of things, enough
And be the lord of all our stuff………..
How paltry now its measure lies
As we gaze upward at the skies
How futile, this brief earthly quest
If we believe earth holds life’s best

All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin


What good is it for a man to gain the whole world,
Yet forfeit his own soul?
Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? Mark 8:36-37

Sleepless..........

Tonight, as you lie down to sleep
Pray tell, what are your thoughts
Do you ask God your soul to keep?
And if sleep should be hard-sought
Who is the one you think about?
Where do your memories stray?
Is it to someone close to you?
Or someone far away
And as you think about this one
Does a smile tease your sigh?
Or does your heart feel like a stone
As you try not to cry?
Tonight, as you lie down to rest
Oh, who will cross your mind?
Is it those who love you best?
Or one you’ve left behind?

Janet~

Serenaded............

Tonight you’ve come to sing to me
A sad and lonesome melody
Not sung by wind or barren limb
Not sung by her nor else by him
The notes that drift across the moon
Bear a melancholy tune
It brings a teardrop to my throat
Yet comforts me within its note
I’ve never heard a song like this
Bittersweet and tender bliss
High, then low the baton falls
In its flow an echo calls
From the faint, far-folded mist
I am serenaded, kissed
As the evening fades away
In a grand, soundless display
Like a phantom symphony
Silence; how you sing to me

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Janet Martin

November's Garden.....

A garden full of nothing…..
It used to be in bloom
She’d bask where nature’s passion
Shed her glory in full bloom
But that was before cold fingers
Stripped the last brave buds away
Still…..she comes and lingers
In the silence cold and gray
As she hears the tender echo
Of a summer passing by
And a little jolt of sorrow
Brings the teardrop to her eye
In a garden full of nothing
Where the flowers used to grow
Where the children loved to wander
And the laughing winds would blow
Where the blue eyes of September
Smiled a sweet and lazy sigh……..
Ah, the garden of November
Is a soulful lullaby

Janet~

They Found Him

He was eighteen
He thought he would run
Into the grand world
To have some fun
Away from the do’s and the don’ts, reprimands
Ah, freedom where no one could restrain his hands
But he forgot about one crucial thing………….
His mother’s prayers……..
And they found him
Every day wherever he would go
He was never alone, you know
Oh yes he was young, and yes, he could run
But there was one thing
He had not counted on
His mother’s prayers
Would not leave him alone
Run fast my child, run far, anywhere
You will never be able to out-run a prayer


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Janet Martin

Before You.........

She can never go back to who she was before……
Before hands shaped her and molded her into who she is now
She can never go back…nor would she choose to
For then she would not have known you………….

She can never go back to the beginning again
Before your words became part of her frame
Or before you gave to her a new point of view
She can never go back to……...before you

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Janet Martin

Life Lessons..........

Oh, do you remember when you cried all night
As you watched your red balloon disappear out of sight
Into the sky a little red dot
Until nothing remained…….but hope

Oh , do you remember the time you cried
At the song ‘good morning, beautiful’ because you hated it
We chuckled at your out-raged, five-year-old voice
As you taught us about….. difference and choice

Do you remember the chocolate pudding all over your face?
As you told me you didn’t even have one tiny taste
While I tried not to laugh at those big eyes of blue
And I had to teach you about…….truth

Do you remember the time we took a little drive?
Because someone needed to apologize
There is never a good time for unkindness
And we both learned a little about…..forgiveness

So many life lessons, so much to learn
While we teach our children, God teaches us in return
Laughter and tears, both are gifts from above
As God teaches us….about love

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Janet Martin

And I Love You.....

My dear, I fear tonight the wind is low and bold
Its song a moody serenade, blue, foreboding, cold
I should be discouraged as I hear its plaintive tune
But I am still quite happy….. for I love you

My dear, tonight the clouds release a flood of iron tears
Each one could represent one of a thousand fears
I suppose I should be saddened and feel a little blue
But, my dear, I cannot, for I love you

My dear, tonight I am here and you are miles from me
But the same rain falls on you dear, from the same gray sea
The same wind moans the same sad song, yes, it is true
The road, my dear is not too long….and I love you

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Janet Martin

The Trouble With Truth....

I can dance all around it and try to avoid it
Invent lies to take its place
But no matter how clever the ruse or endeavor
It eventually stares me in the face................

I can rearrange it and constantly change it
Re-phrase every sentence I write
But I may as well face it instead of erase it
For the truth visits me every night

I could write prose as sweet as a rose
With never a thorn or a tear
But what good are lies, just a fickle disguise
Until the truth re-appears

I can dance all around it and try to confound it
But I have learned in the end
I will still need to face it for naught can replace it............
And truth is both foe and friend..................

Janet~

They Call Her 'Slut'

She came home from school
As hungry as could be
Mommy wasn’t home
So she just watched TV
What’s a little girl of ten
To do all alone, anyhow?
Mommy seems to be late…..again
…….she’s used to that by now
..and Daddy? She never knew him

Supper is a bag of chips
A lukewarm can of pop
She wonders where her mother is
Should she call her shop?
Last time she tried she wasn’t there
They told her she went home
Surely she will soon be here……..
It’s quiet here alone
…as she suddenly wonders about Daddy

A twelve year old sure knows a lot
About what to get and where
She knows just what to say…….or not
When mother isn’t there
But there’s a group of kids that meet
Over on the next block
They just hang out on the street
Until ten o’clock………
….and they talk…a lot

Fourteen……mom seems busier
Now than she was then
That crazy corporate ladder
Doesn’t seem to have an end
But that’s okay, she’ll be fine
She’s learned a thing or two
She is no longer eight or nine
There’s things a girl can do
…….to be loved again

The street feels like her second home
It’s full of so-called friends….
It sure beats being home alone
Besides….they understand…
….the silent and unwritten codes
The lonesome hunger but……..
Success hurries by….turns up her nose
And mutters……. ‘little slut’
....'gosh, I need to be at work in five minutes!!!'


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Janet Martin……….

November's Song......

You toss across the earth today
A somber cloth of silent gray
No more the gleaming topaz eye
Where bluebells laugh beneath your sigh
You must make your presence known
In the color of a stone

Sing your gloomy lullaby
To the dreary passer-by
Sing your morbid sonnet, then
I know you cannot remain
You’re allotted thirty days
Before you slip into Time’s haze

Silent is November’s dawn
As she breathes across a lawn
That has become a sort of bed
Decked in russet, gold and red
Her tear slips from the barren peak
As it trickles down my cheek

Janet~

Tomorrow......

Tomorrow will be too late
To go back to before today
Let’s take this moment, make the best of it
Before it slips away
No matter how hard we may wish to try
No matter what words we say
Today is as untouchable as the sky
When it becomes yesterday

Janet~

Cara Mia, ti Voglio Bene

They all look so lovely
As they go strolling by
Ladies in long flowing dresses
And starlight in their eyes
Arm in arm with their lovers
What a sight to see
But love is not a painting in Venice…..
Or one act of grand chivalry

I’d love to ride the gondola
Down a moonlit avenue
‘Cara mia, ti voglio bene’
I would whisper to you
And the lights in the little shop windows
Would twinkle in reply
But love is not a street in Italy
Love is you and I

Love is not the perfect villain
Or ‘oh, my sweet Romeo’
Love is the sound of music
In the tender afterglow
Of a mountain we have a conquered
Or a storm as it rests in the sea
Love is the beauty in knowing
That love is you and me

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Janet Martin