Sunday, November 17, 2024

remnants

I'm gathering up the remnants
from the wildness of the sin
I open the doors and windows
to let the fresh air in
I guess we dodged a bullet
and the havoc it could bring
now once again I'm joyous
cause of all that this will mean

some were so precocious
with heads buried in the sand
all they knew was hatred
not love for this great land
complacency is vicious
while onward you did rage
allow yourself redemption
let emptiness fill the cage
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

foretold

go the wrong way foward
most times a difficult road
navagating a path
as the future is foretold
bridges we constructed
as we connected our minds
forged with love and trusting
as this road continually winds
what's around the corner?
honesty and truth?
misguided apparitions
or is it merely you?
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Saturday, November 9, 2024

neglect

they cry on tick tok 
they wail on TV
like this is the worst thing
that they've ever seen
suck it up princess
like we had to do
this won't be the most perilous
to happen to you

meanwhile, those 
that will never be sheep
flying our flags 
at last we can sleep
praying for our country
praying for the elect
trying to move forward
moving past the neglect
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Thursday, November 7, 2024

the Veteran

the old man talks 
about his time in war
the battles that were waged
on a far away shore
you sit and you listen
to all you've heard before
the price that he paid
in a place he abhorred

he lights a fresh smoke
and you notice his shake
from atrocities seen
and all his heartaches
still, you sit there in silence
not a sound do you make
till he's done with his stories
that makes his soul quake

for all that he lost
what should have been golden
no longer the boy
that innocence stolen
it flows from his lips
like the creek that is swollen
a story he still tells
with fervent emotion
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

dimensions

relative dimensions of what isn't right
as the world passes by in the dead of the night
causing the problems, an upheaval  it seems
crushing the hearts of those that had dreams

yonder the horizon, maybe a new day will dawn
come with our coffee as we stretch and yawn
always so much harder than it ought to be
as once more the fight gets knocked out of thee

so baby let it burn till there's nothing but ash
stay out of the ruckus and run from the clash
your name's on a list in indelible ink
with all that you know, with all that you think
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

all that is to be

I'm holding on for glory
I'm on the edge of my seat
I'm waiting for the victory
surely God will not defeat
I'm waiting for the tolling
of the Philadelphia bell
will we again be champions?
or do we burn in Hell?

innocence lays squandered
on the side of the road
little ones may not know it
but it's a very heavy load
am I the only one who sees?
all we stand to lose
God will sort out injustice
I pray that this is true

liars and cheats in the market
hoodwinked are their lot
but the good Lord stands among us
to cast the demons out
my heart believes the relevant
the truth will set us free
with an angel on the shoulder
of all that is to be
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

direction

love finds its own direction
it doesn't need a path
the trail may look like wilderness
sometimes you'll go off track
but when the trek is over
and you see how far you've come
it may have taken days and weeks
before the journey's done

the times things came to easy
the times I wanted to restart
the times life interjected
the times with a broken heart
the times when it felt solid
the times it washed away
the time that it was perfect
the time is now, today
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

Thursday, October 31, 2024

middle of the mix

in the solace of the sun, which is no longer warm
where birds don't fly and bees won't swarm
a river of words, that flow swiftly through
the verses are pretty but it doesn't ring true

the hours out of joint cause the minutes won't tick
you and me baby in the middle of the mix
the cages are full of these costly renditions
the moldable minds that collect the admission

in the silence and rubble of long empty spaces
forgotten tombs and monument bases
here, once we walked, while we were still young
one ache was ending as the next pain's begun

this trench in my mind and midway through my soul
these cardboard encasements with so many holes
from this day forward, will we ever find peace?
with no one to lead us through this old disease
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

Monday, October 28, 2024

ashes

at winter's edge you found me
huddled, afraid and alone
while all around the fields burned
from all the wheat I'd sown
my hands stretched over ashes
where once a fire raged
staring past your shadow
while I was disengaged
you lifted me from carnage
from what once was my past
wrapped me in your jacket
and said "stop looking back"
leave those days behind you
let me show you what's ahead
there in your hand you showed me
a golden, twisted thread
"each twist is a way forward
though intricate it may look
the essence of its very strength
is written about in books"
he said, "the blossoms will return
and winter will pass to spring
take my hand I'll show you
what all of this could mean"
as a bell tolled out the hour
as the sun rose in the west
the tide of indifference ebbing
as my spirit finally rests
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Friday, October 25, 2024

saphire

a million stars stretch across the sky
one pale moon is the backlight
nothing I can say, that I haven't said before
as you sweep my soul like waves on the shore

I once grew impatient, what was to be?
I thought there was no one, on this earth for me
I know that I've never been blessed quite like this
all on a chance, that I almost missed

a morning like saphire, breaks through at dawn
we stumble for our coffee, 'tween stretches and yawns
my senses overthrown, my heart bursting at the seams
you were the answer, to each and every dream
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Thursday, October 24, 2024

birds without wings

birds without wings
sitting on the ground
prey to the hawks
that soar all around
they hide in the bushes
their fate is unknown
as they feast on the morsels,
the few I have thrown

in the fractured landscapes
where weeds hide their fate
if they run off to early
or maybe too late
while the angry sun burns
how many days will they thrive?
these birds without winds
and their will to survive
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

I write

I write my feelings
I write my thoughts
I write to project
I write to express
I write to relax
I write to withdraw
I write to entertain
I write to think
I write to laugh
I write to cry
I write memories
I write to unwind
I write my soul
I write my spirit
I write my love

I write
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Insomnia

In the darkness of the night
Again I toss and turn
A million thoughts race through my mind
Insomnia plagues my life

To sleep would be a luxury
One I live without
No rest for the wicked
I guess that is my plight

Tired of the problems
Complexities and strife
Longing just to close my eyes
For just one night of rest

So I write to sooth my conscious
Late into the night
Putting thoughts on paper
Helps relax my mind

When all my thoughts are written
Maybe then it will come
How many poems will it take?
To sleep, to dream, to rest

Wednesday, October 23, 2024

winds of change

you bite the hand that feeds you
have the nerve to ask for more
while family and friends are praying
behind the locked, closed door
it seems to be your fancy
to do just as you please
while rivers are red and flowing
upon the empty streets

you claim "I didn't do this"
"it wasn't only me"
Judas stands there knocking
for the gold he needs
the winds of change blow gently
then gust to hurricane force
as you wonder how it happened
shake your head with little remorse
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Wednesday, October 16, 2024

like silk

words, like silk, flow from your lips
mine, a little garbled, as I shoot from the hip
the meaning is clear, what can I say
the kiss is sweet, before you walk away

winters gray wall, a chill in the air
embers heat warmly, so we don't care
city lights at twilight, from frosted window panes
while love moves onward, with the same refrain

it all comes down to the balancing act
keeping it steady, dealing in facts
all the ghosts, quietly packed away
as the sun rises bright, on yet another day
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Monday, October 14, 2024

a poet

from the words of a poet
with words no one will hear
the magnatude of silence
the music not revered
the voice a little flat
and misses ecery note
but still it keeps on singing
but that was all he wrote

the nightngale is silent
the coyotes just won't howl
the saguaro doesn't listen
to what was here and now
he still keeps up the lyric
to a song that makes no sense
you should have left much sooner
to all that you held hense
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

shadows

loves old song
that's no longer sung
once bound together
now frayed and undone
shadows flee the sunlight
and moonlight causes unrest
you wonder in the mountains
the place you loved the best

beauty weaves a pattern
now in your heart enshrined
where once you had forever
now never comes to mind
with further complicaton, 
you advance your one last pawn
a night of revelation
evaporates in dawn
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Wednesday, October 2, 2024

frayed

a fractured country
a flag that is tattered
youth that's forsaken
and don't seem to matter
adults who have fallen
on hard times and strife
overdose on ignorance
and give up their life

looking back with their sadness
tired ideas, values misspoken
no money for a ride
with their valueless tokens
lackluster thoughts
on too many crimes
so blows the wind
on uncertain times

as skeletons abound
and wander this land
a truth that's forsaken
in administered plans
a frayed flag still proudly
waves in the breeze
over the land of misguided
in a fractured country
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

Wednesday, September 25, 2024

the brink

sometimes, my soul flickers
like a candle in the breeze
grasping at straws to reason
but in the reasoning creeps
standing at a crossroad
where hope and reason meet
one path will hold victory
the other strong defeat

the echoes of the numbness
from silence to extreme
from shadows in the sunlight
to a night with no moon beams
the world that once did prosper
so shiny, it did gleam
slides down the slippery slope
along with American dreams

the storm of all mankind
who surely mean no harm
as callousness spreads thickly
on what has lost its charm
silence, they say quickly
lay down those firearms
we're here to protect you
no need for that alarm

still my mind roams freely
as I jot shit down in ink
it may come back to bite me
when I'm not allowed to think
"it isn't what I wanted"
they shush without a blink
and everything is crooked
that's pushed over the brink
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

Sunday, September 22, 2024

within reach

the moon lays buried 
where solitude expands
I'm gazing at billboards
and broken lines on asphalt
all lead away from the past 

I'm longing for the morning 
to rise upon the hills 
I can't get the speed I need 
but I'm still shifting gears 
while watching for the sunrise
and blue sky days ahead 

I sink within the darkness 
I rise with each new sun
knowing the pivotal point I'll reach 
before this day is done
it will shrink in the rear view 
and that's all I will leave 
better for having been there
but much too proud to stay 

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

yesterday

the lights went out and you're long gone
things that mattered don't matter now
I told you things that I wanted to say
what's past is past I'm your girl from yesterday

the days stretch long and the nights are worse
messages left are short and terse
perspective that you held at bay
days move forward but I'm stuck in yesterday

my heart is gonna hurt for just a little while
when I see your picture it makes me smile
I guess the words kinda got in your way
there is nothing left for you when you think of yesterday
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

imaginary love song

I kiss the disappearing image
the apparition that is you
my arms around a shadow
something I can’t hold on to
I hear the imaginary lyrics
the love song that you sang
of promises not tendered
but I heard them just the same

as I write the endless letters
with invisible, hopeless ink
professing one-sided feelings
unstamped empty sheets
the sun peaks through the window
as another nightmare fades
the only evidence remaining
teardrops on a pillowcase
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just one

frost forms thick on all around
feet crunch loud on frozen ground
and what I've known for oh, so long
thaws and drips with morning sun

the wide open space now closes in
fenced and barbed like old Berlin
my mind skates quick on ice that's thin
what once was won't come again

in the mountains where wild things prowl
packs of coyotes with their low growl
for miles I can see the here and now
and our love there that now goes south

pictures painted in darkest hues
times we spent, just me and you
monsoons came and drenched sky's blue
leaving just one when it was through
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Monday, September 16, 2024

9/11

for those that were lost
a day for remembering
haunting history

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Wednesday, September 11, 2024

9/11/01

your final destination
solitary footsteps etched in sand
wandering once, your trail now ends
Heaven reaches out its hand



it never should have happened
certainly, not like this
your heart fills with its blessings
your mind with those you'll miss

it all ends with a quickness
no one could've foreseen
and life for those still living
will never be the same

Creative Commons LicensePoetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License