running with scissors

I am running with scissors, throwing caution to the wind
jumping many fences, that used to rein me in
be damned with what they think; or think that they may know
I am not quite finished yet, nor is it time to go

I'm sliding down the banister, of the stairway that leads up
and I am pretty thirsty for what runs over my cup
it's not a mountain breeze, more like a hurricane
the thunder is still crashing and there's lightning just the same

how we've come this far,with still more paths to travel
held together with glue so we don't come unraveled
I don't think we're close to being over or done
another night does pass and up comes the warm sun

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

it rings as truth

did I go too far? not far enough?
too late to pull back or call your bluff
it is written in script, and props for the stage

should have known better now at this age  
vindication of scenes in minuscule facts
the curtain gets drawn on the second act
backstage cues for what's raw in the wings
unheard words and unseen things

it used to be easy--a dress rehearsal
we laughed and cried being not too careful
like mama said, being far to curt
"it is all fun and games till one gets hurt"
I thought she spoke of childish things
it seems she predicted what tomorrow brings
a smart woman who always knew the score
maybe she had seen it once before
either way, it rings as truth
crystal clear, it rings as truth

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

what once

what once burned hot on a cold spring night
dwindles, extinguished, like a tallow's light
nothing to sustain, nothing to hold
as it fades away, love's afterglow

what once held dreams in sleepless arms
a kiss of a lover with all of its charms
hangs heavy and weightless in a darkened room
the fragrance remaining like musky perfume

what once played softly on a mountain breeze
a love song dancing with its expertise
evanescent gone, like the lyrics sung
over much too quickly, maybe not begun

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

flick

my mind,
like the flick of a camera shutter
memorizes your face

my heart,
memorizes everything else

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

Candle In The Darkness

Like the “Hotel California”
The welcome mat was out
Thought I was entering paradise
Now I have some serious doubts

The light I followed in here
Has been completely snuffed
Darkness, shadows, obscurity
I know I’ve had enough

Feeling for the way back
Don’t know if I can leave
Looking for the doorway
And things that I believe

Searching for a glimmer
The things that once held true
A candle in the darkness
A crack I can slide through

Still I’m finding nothing
A flicker is all I need
I know I can climb out of this
Can get this to recede

Praying for redemption
One small ray of hope
Saying a Hail Mary
Anything to cope

Seeking never finding
All now may be lost
The things that led me in here
Were not worth the cost

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

culpable

I am guilty as charged
culpable of overthinking
playing every scenario
over and over
all possible outcomes

what's a girl to do?

a busy mind with
too many tabs open, always
a mind that never rests
even in sleep

crazy dreams
unhinged outcomes
over and over it bleeds
into every aspect
of this enthusiastic intellect!

in my defense.
I've saved your ass
a time or two
kept you from falling
from your pedestal

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

brief moment

now you see it
now you don't
a brief moment
snuffed and gone
the candle flickered
flame never glowed
goodbye whispered
as I moved on

late at night, your
dreams are spawned
turning to lust
before the dawn
you clutch my pillow
but I've withdrawn
that side now cold
my love long gone

once you had it
now you don't
nothing missed
since you've been gone
I moved on
memories stored
new ones made
with my adored

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

thoughts

you set the background

on a new page

It remains blank 

nothing to engage

no thoughts come to mind

no ideas that come forth

no memoires shared

from west or the north

thoughts used to flow

a pen that would write

from early in the morning

to the dead of night

maybe they escape you

from what's perfect you found

and now you rest easy 

when your head is layed down

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

sacrifice

were you saving it for later?
looking through a scope?
were you trying to pull it together?
this life, your past, these hopes

were you looking for who you are?
as you leave your past in a ditch
were you thinking I'd wait forever
it would go off without a hitch?

were you swimming against the current?
as your fantasies float downstream
were you trying to pull it together?
as you sacrifice one more dream

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

sanity

I sacrificed my sanity
it took a road trip on its own
packing light, taking flight
with all its baggage stowed
gone for just a little while
taking the do's and don'ts
figured it out, now its back
my sanity has come home

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

weightless

it weighs like silver there in your hand 

you ask nothing, make no commands 

I look into your eyes and your heart that entices 

your kiss may cost but I'll pay any price 

blessed by the heavens--the blue sky above 

in the fluttering wings of a snow white dove 

there is plenty of room in this chambered coffer 

storing this love and the hope that is offered 

inside the door of what can't be seen 

I wake and remember this sweet, sweet dream 

it lies weightless there, in the palm of your hand 

I'll sacrifice all that your heart demands

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

good eye

you have a good eye

this is what you say to me

well, I did find you

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

shallow stream

mountain breeze
whispers sweet
through the desert brush

skies of blue
cloudless, too
once a perfect day

memories fade
as love wades
across a shallow stream

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

mountain breeze

the breeze blowing down from the mountains
stirring trees, shifting sand, tossing leaves
but it doesn’t clear my mind
doesn’t sweep the thoughts of you away

if I stand here long enough
will it erase your tracks
the imprints left on my heart
holding me at night under the stars

the memories rush over me
like the tides crashing to shore
and nothing I do will make me forget
the time you were, my time with you

do you remember, did it leave a trace
at night under the stars I sit and think
and wonder if you have forgotten
the memory filed away when you left

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

tallowed light

clouds that cover once starry skies
mountain breezes whisper your name
desire that burns a heated reprise
like a blanket that envelops me

a lovers touch, a lovers words
speaking softly in my ear
with moistened lips, passion stirs
in the tallowed light

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

so many times

so many times, I draw the line
you stepped over just in time
reading into all the rhymes
purveyor of all that could be fine

so many times, I turned to go
all that truth that didn’t show
tossing lines both to and fro
hugging hard and loving slow

so many times, just one more chance
weighing what is circumstance
the queen of hearts asked you to dance
what follows is a wild romance

so many times, I questioned all
it lasts from spring into the fall
you take my heart but drop the ball
the dream not quite as I recalled

with shaded eyes you turn away
live to love another day
I wanted to go and yet I stayed
the queen of hearts now fades away

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

lovable

if you can help me over icy patches
the times of doubt or shouting matches
anything to tether and make this last
I can be that lovable

not insecure but in a mind set
baggage free is what you get
if my love you will accept
and not burst this bubble

lay me down and make it so
covered with love that lasts and grows
better or more than I"ve ever known
I am worth the trouble

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

Love That Lasts

It’s the feeling that you give me
The things that you can see
The promise of something special
Existentially

It’s the things that you speak
Everything that’s deep
Nothing in disguse
That my heart has memorized

Hearts that now have intertwined
Part of my soul, part of my mind
All I’d lost I now have found
With your love that does surround

Love that lasts, a future that’s new
All the things I’ve found with you
All you give, I return tenfold
All because my heart you hold

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

between the lines

I sing the words
between the lines
the lyrics yours
the music mine
somehow, the beat
is out of time
and we can't dance
to the initial rhyme
someone cuts
as the tempo climbs
the wine not sweet
from the bitter vines

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

haiku you

I composed an ode
the subject, all about you
feel between the lines

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

no relief

I told you the truth and it didn't set me free
I lived a lie and it's killing me
I spilled it all, told you every word
you turned your back and pretend you heard

it rose high in the sky with the mornin sun
it came back to haunt... all I've said and done
I prayed to the wall about rattles in my brain
no relief came...nothing masks my pain

did you love me for a minute underneath the moon?
did I leave a mark deep inside of you?
was it only on the surface or hidden in your heart?
was there anything there after all of our starts?

tomorrow comes and it's like yesterday
I write the same words with the same refrains
somehow I think it will make you realize
that I was smart enough to read between your lines

I told you the truth and it didn't set me free
I lived a lie and it's killing me
I spilled it all, told you every word
you turned your back and pretend you never heard

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

manna

like an over-ripened fruit
juices freely flow
pooling, sticky on the tile
solitary footsteps tracked through

look over your shoulder
a dim light beckons from
a splintered door
what you controlled
the things you held
still worthy of the price

wandering the desert floor
forty days and nights
hungry for the taste of manna
and all that you were promised

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

footsteps

I may be light, but my footsteps will leave
deep imprints on your soul
you will still know that I was there

that for awhile we walked in the sun
that for a short time we loved
that for a minute, love was perfect
that there will never again be
anything like this

that is how memories are created
that is the dream that was realized
that is the song that we all want to sing
and the dance we wish to do forever