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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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