separated

by more than desert 

by more than mountains 

by more than time zones 

by more than states 

by more than cities 

by more than plains 

by more than 2,000 miles

by more than distance 

by more than time 

by more than what is 

by more than what could be 

by more than love

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

Train Haiku

haunting and mournful

but a sound I love at night

a train whistle blows

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

the next best thing

are we all waiting for the next best thing? 

while resting 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

my reflection

what I see in you I see in me 

you are my reflection 

when you hurt I feel your pain 

and want to heal you 

when you soar I too fly 

happy for your joy 

your thoughts are mine on the same wave length 

sometimes no words needed 

you have changed me enriched my life 

in so many ways 

giving back things 

I lost along the way 

thanks for this 

and for so much more 

for being you, 

reflecting me 

 

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

Lost Dreams

The things I left along life’s trail 

I thought I could live without 

Broken hearts and broken dreams

 I’ve hurt some, there’s no doubt 

Leaving ego, leaving self 

Leaving some of my dreams 

Leaving bits of integrity 

That can never be redeemed 

The trail is getting longer 

Losing more along the path 

Looking back in anger 

Need to find a way back 

Stop and reassess my life 

Need to get back on track 

Preserve the little I have left 

Resurrect the things I lack

Time may be to short now 

For redemption of my soul 

To stop the hurt and hurting 

To climb out of this black hole 

Need to listen to my heart 

And do the things that are right 

Restore the days of sunshine 

And end these sleepless nights 

 A 12-step intervention 

Beg forgiveness from those I hurt

 A very slow healing process 

Will my pain also revert?

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

Chapters

Walking on a desolate beach 

Past castles made of sand 

This same beach we walked once 

Together hand in hand 

I smell the salt water from the sea 

Feel the wet, cool tide 

Solitary footsteps now 

You’re no longer at my side 

The tide it ebbs and then it flows 

Coincides with my life 

Highs and lows like pounding waves 

Happiness then strife 

The castles now have washed away 

The sand is clean and smooth 

Another chapter in my life 

A chapter without you

For You Baby

This one’s for you baby 

Even though you’re not here 

To love me when I need it 

And hold me when I’m scared 

This one’s for you baby 

You’ve been gone too long 

Something always coming up 

Singing that same old song 

This one’s for you baby 

You better come home soon 

I can’t take it much longer 

I feel like I’m marooned 

This one’s for you baby 

Maybe I should come to you

I need a break here anyway 

Are you being true? 

This one’s for you baby 

Again the same excuse 

I think it may be over 

I think you need to choose 

 

This one’s for you baby 

Writing’s on the wall 

You should have told me sooner 

Instead of all the stall!

A Friend (for you)

As you tell me your story 

Your fears and inner thoughts 

Your wounds still fresh and bleeding 

Your mind is overwrought 

I listen without judging 

I am what you need me to be 

A confidant and sounding board 

Helping with the debris 

I understand your apprehension 

The stress that you’ve been through 

That hopefully has been laid to rest 

With nothing more to do 

I am what I appear to be 

No agendas, no hidden scheme 

Trust that I am here for you 

A friend when you are in need 

Tell me all your secrets 

Don’t fear me or hold back 

Trust the connection we have built 

This foundation has no cracks

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

Morning

Unexpected pleasures 

Like a pirate’s sunken treasure 

Await 

The mountains at dawn 

As I stretch and yawn 

Grandeur 

The rising sun 

As each day’s begun 

Warmth 

Coffee to start 

Jump start my heart 

Electric 

 A nice hot shower 

Could stay there for hours 

Awaken 

Start a new day 

In the same way 

Glorious 

Now go to work 

Always that quirk 

Consistent 

Think of you on the drive 

Helps me to survive 

Wondrous 

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

Edge of Reason

On the edge of reason
A thread of hope remains
Wanting just to believe
A thin chance of the truth

Hanging on to rationale
Longing for validation
The slender thread is fraying
Not much for substantiation

When the questions are unanswered
Or the answers take to long
The edge of reason starts to wane
And hope is fading fast

The logic now exhausted
All the reckoning is lost
The thread of reason just now snapped
All suspicions wrought

Joy?

Joy is overrated 

It seems that way to me 

Couples all seem happy 

On the surface that you see 

I have been in relationships 

Not as easy as it seems 

One person doing all the work 

Going to extremes 

Next time that I fall in love 

My lover can work harder 

To win love and affection 

And appreciate my ardor

Dark Side Of The Moon

There is a dark side of the moon 

One that I have seen 

It is not all that luminous 

But hidden by moonbeams 

Falling for the obvious 

The moon, it plays some tricks 

Everything is softly lit 

And you are transfixed 

Keep your guard up 

Don’t relent or fall under the spell 

Or you’ll be in deep trouble 

I know this very well 

You need to heed this warning 

You won’t get another chance 

Stay indoors on full moon nights 

Avoid the dangerous trance 

Once you see the dark side 

Your whole life will change 

Everything previous forgotten 

Nothing will be the same

fung shui

sometimes all the day to day

stuff that you can't put away

never ending, no fung shui

no time for a quick coffee break

Monday's like this aren't any fun

time for zoom, you gotta run

please no questions, not even one 

wrap it up, so I get done

the drive home is not too bad

not the worst day that you've had

all ideas from your launch pad

made the bosses pretty glad

home at last, now where's my wine?

time to free the working mind

spinning wheels that once did grind

bounced off you as I unwind

you smile, you nod, you fill my glass

as I am running out of gas

you say "honey, that is past"

enjoy the evening, let them pass

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

my sky burns

my sky burns 

I smell the acrid smoke 

taste the ash on my lips 

a thirst unquenched 

my skin hot from the heat 

my soul singed my heart incinerates

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

Paradoxical sleep

Random thoughts at arbitrary times
A life once shared quickly demised
Thoughts that swim in water deep
Nightmares come in paradoxical sleep

You watch me flail, in over my head
Drift in and out while I mournfully tread
Choke out the water that’s in my throat
Silently drown or try to stay afloat

You were here and now you’re gone
Ash still falling with each new dawn
A life invested extinguished fast
Promise yields to the aftermath

Strength for all so they don't see
A tower that crumbles inwardly
Internal tears that my heart cries
The perfected façade is just a guise

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

love

like a flower I bloom 

the sun warm on my blossom 

heat radiates from my center 

moisture, rich on my petals 

I bask in your love 

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

simple math

I know > than I need
but < than I want
true - false = questions

if you + love
and / trust
the quotient
is ambiguous
at best

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

pipe-dream

feelings rush through this pipe-dream 

gushing like the leak in Louisiana 

leaking barrels and barrels of me 

killing what surrounds as it bleeds 

there is no fixing this enormous spill 

it spews too fast, with its own will 

Haliburton can't control the danger 

my heart the only thing in range

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

winter

golden leaves drop--dead
frost forms thickly all around
winter bares its soul

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

Tell It To Me Softly

Tell it to me softly 

Whisper the words 

Nuzzle my neck 

Hold me tight 

Take me there slowly 

With passion and fervor 

We have all night 

Let’s not hurry 

Stay with me after 

Caress and sooth 

Until it comes again 

Urgent and pressing 

Just like in the beginning

The Band Plays On

Tired of this same old tune 

Although the music has changed 

Tired of all the ins and outs 

And still the band plays on 

Tired of broken promises 

Wishes that won’t come true 

A one sided relationship 

And still the band plays on 

I think I finally get it 

You were never really there 

It was just my imagination 

And still the band plays on 

Don’t know why I stayed this long 

Knew you couldn’t change 

I know I’ve reached the breaking point 

And still the band plays on 

 I’ve given enough chances 

For you to make it right 

I guess it was too much to expect 

And still the band plays on 

 I’m not dancin' any more 

No matter what the song 

See my back as I walk away 

The band has finally stopped

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

Sins

you are bleeding from every pore 

your spirit is shattered 

the trauma to your soul, massive 

you tell me your sins 

as though I was your confessor, 

but the redemption you need can not come from me 

how many candles should I light? 

how many Hail Mary’s can I say 

to eradicate this pain? 

although the wounds will heal 

irreparable damage has been done 

and my heart aches for you 

can you find your way back? 

tell me what to do, what you need 

to ease this pain 

I stretch out my hand, grab hold 

I offer a shoulder, lean on me 

I open my heart and surround you with love 

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

Connect

I saw you 

Tall and fair

Standing by your car

You were as I pictured

How I thought you would be 

What I wanted you to be 

We connect 

Both mind and body 

On the same wave length 

We forge a bond 

A bond of friendship

A bond of trust and faith 

And when we part 

We each take with us 

A little of the other 

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

doors

doors close and open
what is around the corner
is a mystery

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

dotted line

I wait for a sign
standing in this valley
my mind outstretched to you

visions that I see...
tall saguaros
mountains surrounding
warm sun
blue sky
me and you

the path we walked
side by side
has weeds pushing up
through the dotted lines

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

call my name

when the sun sets low
in the desert sky
the wind finally stops
blowing in the mesquites
the moon starts to rise
in the dark of night
I will find you

when your dreams come
the ones that let you down
when you toss and turn
but can't shake them off
you reach and touch the
cold pillow near your own
in the dead of night
I will find you

call my name
and I will be there
reach for me
in your hour of prayer
whether you whisper or shout
say it or think it
there will not be anyone
in my heart but you
in the dark of night
I will find you

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

features and benefits

the features of this relationship are:
you are a strong friend
you love me more than your luggage
you are a genius (at times)
you have Freudian insight
you guide me through tough decisions
you are deep like Voltaire
you are optimistic
you do not criticize
you are a voice of reason
you support me
you let me vent
you are funny
you are sincere
you encourage my writing
you've stuck around (why, I don't know)
and more that I can list

the benefits speak for themselves

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

the mediator

this is my new role
feelings out, resolution
all on the table

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

satan’s lot

i’ve sold my soul
to Satan’s lot
what i got back
isn’t what i thought

i don’t make the rules
i’m not on top
misery and anguish
is all i’ve got

buried too deep
in pain and strife
enough of this heartache
for one short life

how do I get back
and break this pact
lookin forward
but all is black

should have read the contract
read between the lines
should of, could of, would of
there weren’t any signs

a life of misery
and too much pain
nothin ahead
nothin i’ve gained

pray to God
on bended knees
bring me back
save me please

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

poetry

we sing the songs about loving and living
taking more out than we are giving
about feelings spread out from east to west
lessons in life we haven't learned yet

we write the words that sometimes rhyme
jotting them down when we have time
writing about love and broken hearts
it's what we do and who we are

we don't care if others understand
each new stanza that we pen
sometimes short or often long
telling about all the goings on

more often than not, no rhymes or reason
spelling it out with adjective seasonings
verbs that flows from deep inside
about tangled roads and flowing tides


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

the place I left behind

looking for somewhere that I've never been

all alone and in between the place I come from 

the place that I'm in, the place I left behind 

there's a few things I don't know; 

some things hidden, 

I don't want to see things come and things go 

here today, gone tomorrow 

here for a minute, gone in an hour 

now it all just goes to show 

I needed you less than you needed me 

I offer sweet tea and sympathy for things of which we won't speak 

words that leave us weak 

utterances of nothing pledged 

lips that won't spit them out 

this place I come from this place that I'm in 

this place I leave behind

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

glorious wonder

did you hear it?
the love song borne on the early breeze
wafting down from mountains tall
through the brambled mesquite trees

do you hum it?
is it resonating in your head
a tune you carry deep inside
when you wake, till you go to bed

does it fill you?
wrapping you in glorious wonder
an inner light that now glows stronger
a gentle rain from echoing thunder

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

anthem

let freedom ring in every thought
for love of country and what it costs
waving strong, red, white and blue
in every heart, the colors wave true

bring me your tired, your hungry, your meek
every immigrant who asylum seeks
from coast to coast this anthem sings
in every heart let freedom ring

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

muzzle flash

the bullet stays in the chamber cause the safety was still on
never spinning through the barrel, the target left unharmed
couldn't smell the sulfur or see the muzzle flash
you should have aimed more carefully if you wanted it to last

you got to feel the excitement of the live round in the chamber
standing in the little booth surrounded by the danger
you got to hear the click and the noise from those up close
but your sight was never good at what was in front of you

the switch pulls in your target, without a single hit
nothing dead on center or even a near miss
you won't win a trophy or ever enjoy the prize
with your finger on the trigger, you missed it by a mile

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

without a trace

a million dreams without a face
that leave at dawn without a trace
planted deep they bloom and flower
only in the late, late hours

summer coursed through lover's veins
autumn came and love remained
leaving with the first snow fall
ice and cold that dashed it all

months of blatant disbelief
shoveling feelings without relief
my heart not able to take a snow day
it worked overtime packing it away

April comes and so do you
whistling again a heartfelt tune
some days filled with beauty and wonder
a song that threatens to take me under

you give a little and take a lot
resurrecting what I once forgot
summer tries to course through veins
clogged and blocked with love's remains

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

country song

I tried to pull it all
from out of thin air
tried to hold you close,
bring you much nearer
my arms came up empty,
like the hope inside of me
you never gave me a reason,
a reason to believe

I hung on with hunger,
you starved me to death
that cold, long winter
when I could see my breath
I couldn't see you through
those frost glazed panes
or in the desert spring
when the monsoons came

I tried to make sense
out of nothing at all
you never tipped your hand
and you dealt the cards
I finally packed my bags
so that I could move on
from what was never here,
from this sad country song

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

tumbleweed

blowing like a tumbleweed
across the desert sand
looking for some roots
a safe place for you to land
drifting with the mountain breeze
across valleys and lost highways
searching for the answers
in every desert sage

talking to saguaro
are the answers there?
looking to the stars and moon
to guide you with their prayers
searching always searching
for the things that will bring peace
even though you found it once
it didn't meet all of your needs

ramble onward bramble
seek and ye shall find
looking deeply in your quest
and at what you leave behind
good things are in your future
looking for what is blind
ramble onward bramble
seek and ye shall find

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

I remain

the morning sun upon the rise
red bleeds across the clouded sky
you know I'm here, I didn't run
even when the monsoon comes
it doesn't change a blessed thing
I remain, I remain

in the twilight and the dawn
in deep dreams where you belong
in the laughter and the tears
past the valley of pain and consuming fears
I remain, I remain

in the distance through the trees
what does plague also relieves
sand dripping through the hourglass
slowly catching up with the past
I see it all looking down the sights
through the scope on a clear night
that is how it's supposed to be
anguish ebbs from the wound that bleeds
and I remain
I remain

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

Kansas

the 70's music fantastic
what a wonderful night
you were singing to me
that "Kansas" song I like

always checking on me
"is there anything you need"
holding my hand tightly
and we never missed a beat

texting in the mornings
and late into the eve
I may not be in Kansas
but you could be what I need

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

when

when the chambers inside are no longer hollow...
when the lump dissolves and I can swallow...
when the tears no longer fall...
when there is no feeling left at all...
when the phases of the moon...
when the sight doesn't leave me blue...
when the season once again changes...
when the spring removes all former traces...
when the blood flows again to my heart...
when the ending becomes a fresh start...
when the news of yesterday...
when the songs are not too vague...
when all above is finally done...
I'll know at last I can move on...

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

who will you love?

who will you love when it finally comes down?
when both of your feet are planted firmly on ground
not sand that shifts and threatens your soul
casting your heart in a deep, black hole
what sparkles not necessarily gold

who can you trust other than your friends?
when the walls crumble and collapse within
mortared feelings at your feet
your spirit sagging from the weight
grace escaping this same fate

who do you know, what do you feel?
what is untried and what is real?
what lays a mystery, could have been had?
it stretches before you, always has
the secret inside a shadowed glass

who will you love, what will be revealed?
when at last your heart is unsealed
when you finally cut and run
to the valley of the sun
North to mountains and endless nights
far away from prying eyes
far away from a past life
far away from me

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

blue sky days

drafts I've posted from long ago
when all of my dreams went up in smoke
wounds inflicted by a lover
it took a long time for me to discover
that friendship can't outrun the past
where we've landed at long last

pain inflicted with my words
just in case you had not heard
I love you made you come unglued
not quite what I expected of you
passion alone didn't fit your need
you said you tried to not mislead
and that these feelings would recede

all those thoughts now are held at bay
the curtain drawn on yesterday
the silent sounds that disappear
an effort made to draw me nearer
holding closely what will stay
through months of rain and blue sky days

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

album

a photo of every memory
pressed in an album of lost dreams
a faded rose now flat and brown
from the bed where you lay me down
petals starting to fall away
like the sweetness of that day
these memories do not hold a threat
for a heart with no regrets

the aftermath of hope and belief
when you turned your back to leave
your love wrapped up in other things
mine is crippled with broken wings

the last page in a very thick book
love compressed without a look
black and white image on the floor
the window closed as is that door

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

someway, somehow

I saw the danger
but not the signs
my heart beats quick
but not in time
and it's too late
to pull back now
it's all going to work
someway, somehow

is it real love
or mirrors and illusion
it hangs heavy
with passion and confusion
it's not rocket science
or nuclear fusion
I'm feeling the draw
electromagnetic intrusion
I'm not pulling out
and not pulling back
it's all going to work
someway, somehow

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

forsaking dreams

yesterday's love underneath my pillow...
at night before I go to sleep...
hoping that dreams of you are sweet...
yearning to be in that far off place...
where we explored possibilities...
hot kisses given in candlelight...
a brush with passion, whispered sighs...
I float, weightless, over deserted beach...
past boardwalks and haunted seascapes...
through shuttered, cobwebbed, vacant rooms...
candlewax remnants on a dusty floor...
searching high and low for what evades...
the sun rises high seeping through my blinds...
the pillowcase wet from forsaking dreams...

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 always 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