Traces

There is a place inside my heart
that no one even knows
I keep it hidden from the light
to protect it from life’s woes

I almost let you find your way
into this precious place
but I pulled back in the nick of time
so there's no discernable trace

Traces of what could have been
traces left behind
not left on this precious place
only in my mind

Someday, someone will come in
they will catch me unaware
what will happen to this place
if someone gets in there

Will there be irreparable harm
will there be love and light
will I be happy I let them in
or angry for the blight

Keeping my defenses active
I've stood guard from the very start
protecting the wall around this  place
this precious place in my heart

Mystery

The things that you search for 

That can not be found 

No matter where you look 

Or how hard you try 

Timing is everything 

And now is not right

It’s not up to me 

Someone else decides

 

We don’t own our future 

Though it's ours to live 

It’s given to us 

Bit by bit by bit

Do the best that we can 

With what’s handed down 

Sometimes it’s nirvana 

Most times it’s not 

One day at a time 

That’s how it goes 

Future a mystery 

Only God knows

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

the only one that knows

there for all of the world to see 

you riddle your life so perfectly

typed in letters large and small

punctuation binding it all 

a beautiful, charitable contribution 

a poet's love that's so confusing 

reading in awe all of your prose 

while you're the only one that knows 

the heart that you captured and let fly free 

the riddles I read are not about me

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

ledger

I don't look, and I don't see
I hold it back from everybody
I figure it out, the only way I can
a narrow ledge with sharp incline
stepping over all that won't hurt
just for once, it almost works

it scratches and claws to find a way out
all the reasons that I think about
a part of me that I won't show
pushed to the back so no one knows
I hit rewind to where it all began
they don't listen or understand
but I know--but I know
what it's all about

the divinity of what's silently written
the ledger full of numbers and superstitions
like the mountains to the north with the same name
where saguaro grow and don't lay blame
a coyote howls in the dead of night
singing the phrases of its own plight
hungering for all that it longs to possess
out there in the lonely wilderness

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

fading years

I'm selling off the boxes
from all the fading years
I think they are completely dry
although once packed with tears
the prophet, there is nodding
at all here on display
no one seems to be buying
the dreams of yesterday

"is this all that you have now?
you've nothing left inside?"
if it's not there I'm keeping
the stuff held in my stride
maybe you can work this
into an intricate piece
selling it at auction
where your dollar will increase

he said "no one will buy it
it looks so beat and worn
I'm sure that you once loved it
before it was all torn"
he said "you should keep this,
and what it represents"
I thought, you are crazy
that time was not well spent

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

Shambles

I thought my life was all messed up
Until I talked to you
You, my friend, have problems
And more continue to brew

Your love life is in shambles
Your credit cards are maxed
You hate coming to work each day

Owe a fortune in income tax

Not much I can do for you
While your wallowing in self pity
I could say some pithy words
Or we could leave this city

Maybe take a little trip
To try and change your mood
You know that we would have to come back
And it would probably be to soon

I think that you are on your own
There’s nothing I can do
You’ll have to climb out of this alone
You may be totally screwed

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

faceless canvas

The paint not quite dry
The strokes vivid and strong
Hues of violet and amber
A masterpiece set aside

Each color painted with longing
A portrait of all that is true
A faceless canvas of yearning
Uncompleted from hapless youth

Before the callousness sets in
A fragmentary work of art
Placed in an abandoned corner
Forgotten in life’s hurts

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

real life

in the rain I hear you call me
in the thunder I sense your fears
in the lightning I see your shadow
in the darkness I hold you near

in the stars I see your eyes
in the moon I feel your heart
in my dreams I know forever
in daylight it's just a start

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

Oh Shit!

you walked in and I thought OH SHIT!
my heart pounded and did back flips
I knew I would be in the middle of this
no way around this sudden twist

that first date was pure perfection
I knew I was vying for your affection
looking back with much reflection
I know I made the right selection!

that yellow shirt with jeans and boots
we laughed and flirted, you were a hoot
you said I was smart assy too
thick as thieves we were real soon

now six years have come and gone
we're together, holding strong
you sing me all of my favorite songs
out of my dreams and into my heart

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

the stand

all I see in the distance
as I focus on it all
the last part of my resistance
stumbles now and falls
you won't meet opposition
from all the disparate strands
I'm taking my position
getting ready to make my stand

from a shrouded heart and shadowed soul
I watch as this unfolds
an unstable situation
that leaks from the usual mold
all I've seen and what I've read
ain't even the tip of the iceberg
and as I strolled down memory lane
the nightingale's all I heard

through fog of contradiction
on an ocean of salty tears
I admired the reflection
a dim light that disappears
careful always of what you say
in case reality should offend
as you sit and watch your soul decay
from the start to the bitter end

wearily I watched you
break chains to be set free
no chance at a storybook ending
not ever between you and me
strained are the limits of compassion
it's a wound that never mends
honesty was never in fashion
it wasn't in the cards my friend

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

Richter

when love starts to rattle and shake 

there is really no safe place 

as your heart splits down the center 

a deep, bleeding crevice rendered 

pieces left all over the place

tears of sadness on my face 

a quake of horrific magnitude 

rocking all that's left of you 

love that is built on a fault-line 

will never stand the test of time 

7.0 scored on the Richter 

reduced to ash and cinder

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