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

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

lost from sight

I followed the path
as if I had a choice
I lit the candle
and I heard the voice
the whisper in silence
the taunt in the night
the locust of despair
the hope lost from sight

all of the possibilities
that hide in my dreams
the wings of the angel
her halo that gleams
words don't match the lips
it is all out of sync
like an old B movie
pushing me over the brink

it doesn't make sense
I feel it just the same
the rhymes and the reasons
of all foolish games
I sort it all out
like laundry on the floor
I close tight the window
and open wide the door

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

Someone I'm Not

There’s a lot of places 

To be someone I’m not 

A façade that I am holding 

Hoping not to get caught 

Acting always acting

like I have got it straight

If they knew what’s underneath

It wouldn't be that great

Strong, is all they'll ever see

No one gets beneath

Keeping up appearances 

A mirror of what they see

Keeping up this misthrow 

Keeping up the inner hell

How long can I do this?

Only time will tell 

If only I can fool them all 

Yeah, that’s the way I think 

But I am only fooling myself 

Bordering on the brink 

It’s me that’s got the answers 

To the questions that they ask 

Pretending I am something 

While hiding behind this mask 

But I will keep on holding fast 

To this pretentious veneer

Till all in side me crumbles

And implodes all hiding here

The racket will be heard for miles

As all inside me rots

Never letting them see at all

I’m something that I'm not

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

more than you

saddled my horse and spurred him hard
I rode fast and I rode far
through the plains in dead of night
now the mountains at last in sight

over my shoulder, vast terrain
nothing lost and nothing gained
alone again to still my thoughts
and all the worries that they've brought

many tabs open at the same time
what is yours and what is mine
separate hearts that beat the same
never a winner of this rigged game

take them all and leave me blue
lying here thinking just of you
not on bottom or at the tip
more than you I always quip

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

pages

as I write the pages
by dim candlelight
the ending maybe a mystery
hidden from my sight
I jot down all the secrets
that I've never told
when the day was oh so hot
but the wind blows too cold

many promises broken
angry words that were said
in the white heat of anger
things I won't confess
these pages thick with love
the ink that is still wet
from the love that glistens
and given without regret

the battles that I waged
sometimes met defeat
I would refight that war
although no easy feat
a chapter penned on heaven
a chapter written on hell
although the latter sometimes seems
the place where I shall dwell

I've lost track of the pages
and where this all may leads
drawing difficult conclusions
after numerous misleads

erasures and redoing

sometimes of all lines

thesaurus was handy

and used so many times

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

Labor Day

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

the best thing

You were wearing a yellow shirt
sit next to me and we start to flirt
my favorite bar in my favorite town
life was dull before you came around

you're the best thing  I've ever done
two is better than only just one
I guess I knew right from the start
you'd be the one to steal my heart

my leg accidently touches your knee
a current of violent electricity
ravages my body and you feel it too
my mind spinning in this crowded room

I'm at a loss, should've known how'd it be
truth be told, it's a two way street
I must admit I  don't understand
why I lose my head even holding your hand

There's no explanation, or simple excuse
For the intoxication I feel around you
during the day and from dusk till dawn
every month and all year long

you're the best thing that I've ever done
two is better than only just one
I guess I knew right from the start
you'd be the one to steal my heart

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

blueprint

I thought it was all sorted
the truth from just this one
and you know I'm a sleuth
when there's work to be done
I'm reading between red lines
where clarity escapes

it seems the subjects twisted
this saga has some gapes


I think that the sweet breeze
blowing from mountains north
started way before
the band ever played our song
it doesn't really matter, 
when fragility's lost its glow  
my love doesn't have designs 
blueprint faded long ago

secure in what you have, 

secure in what you need
one holds on still strong, 

and one is hemorrhaging
one that's eyes are blind, 

one that's eyes can see
one that saw too late
an escape to set me free

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

Lyrics Of My Life

Prose that’s put to music
Lyrics of my life
Sung in soft and bluesy tones
Wonder, loving, strife

A melody of amazement
A rhapsody of passion
A song of aspiration
An opera of emotion

The chords of deep dissension
Played by violins
A harp for softer moments
A cello for my sins

The maestro does conduct it all
Standing with baton
The symphony well directed
As my life plays on

the next best thing

are we all waiting for the next best thing? 

while we rest on this plateau

is the hidden from sight 

our active imagination? 

causing dreams that come at night

are we always looking over our shoulder 

wondering if it passed us by? 

was it at that busy intersection? 

the corner of was and will be 

where we jay-walked with indiscretion 

why not slow down and just enjoy

keep what we have without the ploys 

learn the nuances, 

emit the true feeling

understanding all that love allows 

and cancel the subscriptions no longer needed

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

shadows from the moon

the moon glows eerily on mountain ranges

casting shadows long and strange 

saguaro standing tall and lean 

with brush and boulders in between 

stars don't help or shed some light 

no settling this disturbance tonight 

coyote roam and search for prey 

to keep the rumbling stomachs at bay 

thoughts cast and fall on desert terrain 

wondering what'll happen if we meet again 

distance grows like the shadows from the moon 

dreams discarded that were roughly hewn

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

like a dream

when the dream becomes reality 

and the reality like a dream 

when fire catches and ignites 

but is much more extreme 

the moon breaks through the scattered clouds 

the wind pushes colors of fall 

a galaxy of stars surround 

as love takes in it all 

closed eyes open, my heart beats faster 

it's all in the scheme of things 

when the dream becomes reality 

and the reality like a dream

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

never

I'll never say those words again
I'll bite my tongue and hold them in
what lays spilled on a sticky floor
when it all gushed out that time before
I'll never say those words again

I'll never feel like that again
I'll bury it deep like unforgiven sin
what drifts in dreams, forgotten by morn
swept up like hair after its been shorn
I'll never feel like that again

I'll never hope like that again
hidden by that lovesick grin
it didn't work then nor does it now
I give you this, my solemn vow
I'll never hope like that again

I'll never say those words again
I'll bite my tongue and hold them in
what lays spilled on a sticky floor
when it all gushed out that time before
I'll never say those words again

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

one more time

questions burn
pages turn
still some secrets
I must learn

behind, our past
don't look back
nothing there
but smoke and ash

still, the dreams
my mind screams
waylaid answers
I get it seems

in between
crisp, fresh sheets
love starts over
for you and me

one more time
it's all fine
still I wonder
what's on your mind

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

between wonder and love

they meet in the middle
between east and west
between sunrise and sunset
somewhere between dependence and indifference

they meet in the middle
between unsure and surreal
between unopened and unsealed
somewhere between give and take

they meet in the middle
between rain and sun
between ended and just begun
somewhere between fact and fiction

they meet in the middle
between forgiveness and grace
between bittersweet and a honey taste
somewhere between wonder and love

somewhere between blue sky and monsoon
once again, they meet in the middle

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

the valley

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

once or twice

once or twice I thought I saw you
where shadows stretch across rock lawn
but it was the heat from the sun’s rays
a mirage evaporating into evening dust

once or twice I thought I heard you
drifting silently into a dream
when I looked you were not there
faceless lessons I finally learned

once or twice I thought I smelled
ambrosia left from morsels of love
it left me hungry after digested
thirst not quenched from bitter wine

once or twice I thought I felt
the softness of a lover’s hand
soothing brow but not my mind
coarseness of burlap against velvet skin

once or twice I thought I tasted
the sweetness of what could have been
imagination plays funny tricks
on the senses of what won’t be

peace

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

to sleep

maybe even dream
dream of what it all might mean
intent clear at dawn

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

love sleeps soundly

the sun shines in your smile 

your eyes the color of blue sky 

your touch warm like the rays 

you start my day 

the moon glows through blinds

 the stars blanket cool skin 

your voice the whisper of a mountain breeze 

when you say "good night baby"

love sleeps soundly in your arms

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

pirouette

on my toes, but not my game 

a ballerina's pirouette 

Louboutin's with a red soul 

make a pretty silhouette 

crystal clear the morning light

the wine a deepest burgundy 

switching always back and forth 

bending deeply from my knees 

sleep, don't sleep 

dream, don't dream 

black and white to hazy gray 

this is how it seems 

want, don't want

love, don't love

pack it all away

thoughts on a rainy day 

on my toes, but not my game 

a ballerina's pirouette 

Louboutin's with a red soul 

make a pretty silhouette

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

dreams on water

hiding behind trees at the lake 

leaves falling in full moon light 

trading all we had for something new 

moonbeams glistening like diamonds 

sparkling dreams on rippling water

over pebbles straight to the ocean 

night birds call, gliding, ascending 

around the corner where the river is bending 

down the timeless banks of change 

where sleeplessness awaits 

searching for a friend to see me through 

the darkest of nights

but I am lost in rock formation 

blades of grass bent by howling winds 

sparkling iridescent in shallow light 

I know I won't be staying here 

living on my hopes and prayers 

just another line 

as my watch clicks the minutes by 

I'll know when my time has come 

to get what's mine 

to give the truth 

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

two shadows

two shadows meet
and fuse into one
a mixture, a blending
of sorts has begun
when darkness falls
a new song has been sung
when daylight emerges
so does a tight bond

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

indomitable

Writing what I feel and think 

dissatisfaction, dilemmas, disillusion,

my soul and spirit in blog. 

It eases the pain somehow

helps me to come to terms,

thinking I am in control 

when a higher power dictates 

the past and the future. 

All that I am and will be, 

a future mapped out long ago 

a course that can not be changed

dark and light at the same time. 

Expecting the worst, 

hoping for the best. 

While my guardian angel sleeps 

the candles that were lit 

are extinguished unanswered.

A lifetime of obscurity 

that is dictated 

in day to day measures and

a future that is indomitable.

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

life, also

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